After what felt like a zillion years, the second season of Dark Winds finally debuted. Set in the heart of the American Southwest in the 1970s, the show follows Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) as they unravel mysterious cases that push their detective skills to the limit — and test the boundaries of their own spiritual beliefs.
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The series is based on Tony Hillerman's popular Leaphorn & Chee novels. The first season expanded on the stories in the third book, Listening Woman, and the fourth book, People of Darkness. It seems as if the second season is still pulling from that fourth installment. While fans may have been worried about the separation between Leaphorn and Chee at the end of Season 1, Gordon says the duo will inevitably come back together to solve an even darker case.
"In this season, there's a truck bombing and everything," he told Tell-Tale TV. "I think a lot of it is we're coming to terms with our own moral compasses, mortality, and our integrity. I think it's a nice journey for all of us in there."
But as fans of the show know, the excitement and anticipation of new episodes will be short-lived. The creators behind the AMC Western noir crime thriller series say that Season 2 will follow Season 1 and only include six 40-to-50-minute episodes. That means pretty soon, you will need to fill your TV time up with some new psychological thrillers.
To help you fill the void, here are 11 shows like Dark Winds that will keep you guessing until the very end.
The Sinner (2017-2021)
USA Network
Who's in it: Bill Pullman, Jessica Hecht, Dohn Norwood and Jessica Biel
Where to stream: Netflix
Seasons: 4
Bizarre crimes may be the focal point of this head-scratcher series, but Detective Harry Ambrose's (Bill Pullman) desire to understand the why behind them is what keeps us hooked. That, and psychological demons of his own life he can't seem to escape.
The Valhalla Murders (2019)
Siggeir M. Hafsteinsson
Who's in it: Aldís Amah Hamilton, Nína Dögg Filippusdòttir and Björn Thors
Where to stream: Netflix
Seasons: 1
Set in the capital of Iceland, this show tells the story of a young female detective who teams up with an old-school cop to investigate a series of grisly murders that seem to be connected by one thread — a mysterious photograph.
The Chestnut Man (2021-)
Netflix
Who's in it: Danica Curcic, David Dencik and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
Where to stream: Netflix
Seasons: 1
This Danish thriller follows two police detectives as they try to catch a killer who's playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. All he leaves behind is a small man made out of chestnuts at the scene of each crime.
Tribal (2020-2022)
Tribal Productions Ltd
Who's in it: Jessica Matten, Brian Markinson and Garry Chalk
Where to stream: APTN Lumi
Seasons: 2
Dark Winds' Bernadette Manuelito (Matten) stars in this series about a young Indigenous detective who investigates crimes based on real-world cases — starting with the truth of the tomb of bodies discovered underneath the city.
American Rust (2021)
Showtime
Who's in it: David Alvarez, Rob Yang and Jeff Daniels
Where to stream: Prime Video and Apple TV
Seasons: 1
Set in a rural Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania, this series follows the complicated and occasionally compromised chief of police, Del Harris. When the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder, he must move quickly to quell the unrest and uncover the truth.
The Red Road (2014-2015)
Curtis Baker
Who's in it: Martin Henderson, Jason Momoa, Julianne Nicholson and Kiowa Gordon
Where to stream: Prime Video
Seasons: 2
One of Gordon's earlier projects, this show follows two men — a sheriff and an ex-con — as they try to find a missing college student. Their search takes them to the nearby mountains, where a federally unrecognized Native American tribe is harboring its own secrets.
Under the Banner of Heaven (2022)
Michelle Faye/FX
Who's in it: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington and Daisy Edgar-Jones
Where to stream: Hulu
Seasons: 1
Based on the book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, this series tells the story of a devout detective who investigates a brutal murder that is linked to a radical fundamentalist Mormon sect. Like Dark Winds, what he uncovers has him questioning his spirituality and what he truly believes.
True Detective (2014-)
Jim Bridges/HBO
Who's in it: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Kelly Reilly
Where to stream: HBO Max
Seasons: 3
This anthology series dives deep into the psychology of its characters, exploring their moral choices and showing how those decisions can haunt them. On the surface, True Detective is a murder mystery, but it also tackles themes such as religion and the dark side of human nature. Binge the first three seasons now before the fourth — which stars none other than Jodie Foster — is released later this year.
Sharp Objects (2018)
HBO
Who's in it: Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson and Chris Messina
Where to stream: HBO Max
Seasons: 1
A troubled reporter returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls. While uncovering the truth, she's also forced to confront her own dark past — and secrets that threaten to destroy her life.
Sherwood (2022-)
Matt Squire
Who's in it: Adam Hugill, Lorraine Ashbourne and Perry Fitzpatrick
Where to stream: BritBox
Seasons: 1
This twisty period series is loosely based on one of the largest manhunts in British history. With an already fractured community, the stakes are high when not one but two shocking murders threaten to tear the small town apart.
The Outsider (2020)
HBO
Who's in it: Ben Mendelsohn, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Jason Bateman and Julianne Nicholson
Where to stream: HBO Max
Seasons: 1
Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, this series follows the investigation of a sinister force that might be responsible for a boy's disappearance. As the police and community grapple with this seemingly impossible crime, they're forced to confront the very thin line between truth and fiction.
