The end credits of Dark Winds season 3 kicks off with a terrifying scene of Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) awakening in the desert at night, seemingly having been drugged. Worse, he's terrified and being chased by a dark and malevolent force.

The opening moments establish Dark Winds, which was already renewed for season 4. In a deeply sad parallel to real life, however, that darkness extended to the film community surrounding Dark Winds, which lost one of its own before season 3 began filming.

Joe Bufalino III Was An Assistant Director In New Mexico

He Was Reportedly The Youngest First Assistant Director In The State

Joe Bufalino III was an assistant director working in New Mexico's state film and TV industry, and reportedly the state's youngest first assistant director at age 32 at the time of his death. As a New Mexico-based crew member, he worked on multiple movies and TV shows that filmed in and around the area. While he's not listed under the show's cast on IMDb, TVMaze lists Bufalino as a second assistant director on Dark Winds, which is filmed in New Mexico, Arizona, and Navajo Nation. Before that, he worked with plenty of the show's cast and crew in the past. That includes Longmire, in which Dark Winds' McClarnon also starred. Local crews are always deeply interconnected, so he would have known everyone in the community.

Tragically, Bufalino's life ended by suicide on Thursday, August 17th, 2023. His mother, Pam Rosen, told last few episodes of Dark Winds season 2 prior to his death, so the cast and crew made a point to honor their friend and colleague in the first episode of season 3.

Joe Bufalino III's Story Is A Cautionary Tale About How Hard The Past Few Years Have Been On Crew

The Covid Pandemic & Strikes Have Upended Lives

Bufalino's tragic end is a stark reminder of just how hard the last five years have been on rank-and-file Hollywood crew. When people hear the word "Hollywood," it tends to conjure up glamorous images of rich A-list actors and red carpets, but the reality is that the vast majority of people working in the film and TV industry neither live in Hollywood, nor are they big stars. Crew are often underpaid and live paycheck-to-paycheck, with their livelihoods depending on a steady stream of work.

Unfortunately, the one-two punch of the Covid pandemic and then the writers' and actors' strikes have proven disastrous for the industry. While those aforementioned big-name actors are largely just fine, they make up a very small percentage of people who are comfortable in Hollywood at the best of times, let alone after half a decade of shutdown and disruption. Despite the content on our screens, the industry simply has not bounced back yet in the way it needs to in order to thrive.

Despite the content on our screens, the industry simply has not bounced back yet in the way it needs to in order to thrive.

Everyone from key grips to screenwriters has lost their livelihoods, but the work most people thought would return simply hasn't. Plenty of crew have left the industry, feeling it's no longer feasible to make a living by making movies and TV shows. Others became homeless during the Covid pandemic as work dried up. Sadly, there are others, like Joe Bufalino III, who saw no path forward to continue their dream and opted for a much more permanent departure, making the Dark Winds dedication all the more bittersweet and poignant.

Sources: TVMaze, Straits Times