Dark Winds is a crime drama based on the Tony Hillerman book series “Leaphorn & Chee” and follows the cases given to police officials called Joe Leaphorn & Jim Chee. The thriller series, produced by Graham Roland, centers on the duo looking for information about seemingly unrelated killings in the early 1970s. They confront their previous traumas at the very same time that their spiritual convictions are put to the test.
In “Dark Winds,” action scenes mixed in with some gruesome murders keep the audience interested in their seats. In addition, the 1970s set against various appropriate backdrops, such as the desert and arid areas, not only helps the narrative feel authentic but also piques the audience’s interest in the actual locales where the psychological thriller show was shot. Please allow us to offer the material to satisfy your curiosity if you have any inquiries about the same.
Locations
Dark Winds” is shot primarily in Santa Fe County, Espaola, Cochiti Pueblo, Mexican Hat, the Navajo Nation, & Monument Valley in New Mexico and Utah. The series’ first season’s central photography started in August 2021 and ended in November that year. Chris Eyre, one of the crime show’s executive producers, expressed gratitude to the Navajo Nation and New Mexico for welcoming his team with open arms. Let’s now explore the unique places contributing to the series’ 1970s setting.
Santa Fe County
The third-most populated county in New Mexico, Santa Fe County, which serves as the county seat, is where many crucial scenes for “Dark Winds” were shot. The first Native American-owned production studio, Camel Rock Studios, is used explicitly by the production crew for taping.
It used to be a casino from the 1950s that was later transformed into the sizable studio it is today, and it is situated at 17486 US-84 in Santa Fe. The studio includes over 100 acres of untamed ground with various scenic features in its backlot area and six standing sets.
The cast members continued to record scenes in Espaola and Tesuque Pueblo. The latter is a statistical place and unorganized village in Santa Fe County, while the latter is a city with its central and eastern portions mostly in Rio Arriba County.
Cochiti, New Mexico
The camera crew also establishes a base at Cochiti, a CDP in Sandoval County, for filming purposes. It is a historic district that lies a few miles southwest of Santa Fe and is recognized by the National Heritage list. Given that it is a historic area and “Dark Winds” was established in the 1970s, it makes sense to film there.
Kayenta
It is only appropriate that the show’s producers of “Dark Winds” uses several locations within the Navajo Nation, where most of the story is situated. They shot numerous crucial scenes for maybe the first season at Kayenta, an Arizona census-designated town in Navajo County. The Navajo Nation, also referred to as Navajoland, is located in northwest New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, & southeast Utah.
San Juan County
Along with Mexican Hat & Monument Valley in southern San Juan County in Utah, a sizable amount of the first season of “Dark Winds” was also captured there. The Monument Valley is a section of the Colorado Plateau located on the border between Utah and Arizona, as opposed to the former, a statistic on the San Juan River. It is situated on land that is part of the reservation for the Navajo Nation
