George R. R. Martin’s Hit Crime Series Returns With “Career Performance High” In Season 5

Things are about to get dark for one star of AMC’s acclaimed hit crime series.

Boasting Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin as an executive producer, Dark Winds follows a trio of Navajo Tribal Police officers as they fight crime in the 1970s Four Corners area of the American Southwest. Jessica Matten plays one of the three officers, Bernadette Manuelito, a sergeant who works closely with the show’s lead character, Joe Leaphorn, played by the critically-lauded Zahn McClarnon. Four seasons of the show have made it to air thus far, with Dark Winds season 5 set to premiere in 2027.

While speaking with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan at San Diego Comic-Con, Bernadette Manuelito actor Matten addressed her role in season 5, teasing an especially harrowing run of episodes for her character, while sharing the high praise her performance has already received from one of the show’s producers. “I’m really excited for everyone to see it because the producer said they think it’s a career performance high for me or whatever that means,” the returning Dark Winds star enthused.

Matten then discussed what it felt like getting deeper than ever into her character for season 5. “Without getting too much into it, I had to experience that feeling… You hear actors after they wrap a project, they’re like, ‘Oh, it was so hard for me to shake it off.’ And I always think I’d be like, ‘I’ll just shake it off, honey. It’s fine.’”

She continued, “But then I actually experienced what it was like to really draw from a place where it just kind of messed me up, and I was having nightmares. I’m very rational about things, and I could suffer things. And I realized, ‘Oh, this is what all the actors are talking about. Like I’m actually experiencing it for the first time.’”

The experience left Matten feeling nothing but gratitude toward the creative minds behind Dark Winds. “I ended up just sending an email to the writers and thanking them for opening up a part of me that I hadn’t experienced before as a performer and a human being,” she revealed.

Filming on Dark Winds season 5 recently wrapped. There’s already been some good news about the show’s cast, with the reveal that Geraldine Keams is returning as Alice Benally, a character absent since early in season 1. Unfortunately, it’s also been confirmed that Titus Welliver’s Dominic McNair will not be back when the show returns to AMC some time in 2027.