The Marvel Cinematic Universe comes roaring back to life in Disney+’s nine-episode “Daredevil: Born Again.” We review that as well the third season of “Dark Winds,” the terrific Tony Hillerman-inspired detective series.

“Daredevil: Born Again” >> The MCU’s been a bit of a bore lately, gasping for air like a goldfish that leapt out of a fish tank and landed in the Mojave. The gritty, violent “Daredevil: Born Again” resuscitates the cinematic comic book empire and delivers a riveting and eerily relevant story arc that speaks to the political upheaval and uncertainty of our times. It’s a big surprise how great this series is given there was legit concern after showrunner/executive producer Dario Scardapane’s reboot was sent back to to the shop after Marvel honchos took a look at it. No matter what happened behind the scenes, the result is electrifying and pertinent, and advances the terrific previous three-season Netflix series about Hell’s Kitchen lawyer Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox), who is blind, and his alter ego, Daredevil. It even improves on it by not going way overboard on the violence and peppering in just enough Easter eggs and tangential storylines and appearances of other characters without overshadowing its central story that strikes so many chords about upheaval right now.

The big ace it waves proudly is the square-off between Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Matt Murdoch.

After a horrific attack at Josie’s bar, Matt hangs up his Daredevil persona while Fisk re-enters the New York scene, goes on the couch for marriage counseling with his cunning wife (Ayelet Zurer) and runs for mayor. Matt and Fisk keep a wary eye on each other as Fisk plays on New Yorkers’ ‘fears of crime, and assures voters that once he comes in, there will be no pussyfooting around with the bad guys. Chaos ensues as the psychopath blackmails and manipulates key critics and demands all fall in line with his authoritarian ideas.

Matt, played with real passion and the right dollops of angst and moral complexity by Cox, falls for a therapist (Margarita Levieva) and defends in court Hector Ayala/White Tiger (played with enormous appeal by Kamar de los Reyes). He got involved in a subway fracas that left a bad cop dead amid hints of police corruption. The writing on the series couldn’t be better, and the secondary characters bring more to the MCU.

The highlight, of course, is D’Onofrio’s raging-on-the-inside performance. He’s extraordinary here, especially in a stroke-of-genius sequence in which Fisk endures versions of Jefferson Airplane’s “We Built This City.” It’s an unbelievably funny moment, punctuated by the briefest of telling facial tics. The show also excels in its impressive urban production design, a mood-setting soundtrack and taut direction, particularly in the first episode helmed by the ace indie genre dynamos Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (“The Endless,” “Something in the Dirt.”). The duo were brought in for the redo and their influence as executive producers and directors (they helm episodes 8 and 9 too) and their energy and input remain undeniable.

“Daredevil: Born Again” is easily one of the best series the Disney+ has offered and is also one of the best shows of 2025. It journeys into dark spaces with its contemporary power struggle and grazes, but doesn’t surrender to, the morally blurry lines set forth in “The Joker” and “The Batman.” So keep the kids away.

Details >> 4 stars out of 4; two episodes available now; with one additional episode dropping every week until April 15.

“Dark Winds: Season 3” >> While AMC lacks the sheer volume and deep pockets of other major series providers, the underdog network has nonetheless produced two of the best series running.

One is showrunner Rolin Jones’ take on Anne Rice’s “Interview With a Vampire” (you can stream the first season on Netflix and watch the first and second ones on AMC and AMC+), which is one of the sexiest, most tantalizing shows on TV. And then there is Dark Winds” — kicking off its third season this weekend — which continues to expand and deepen its ethically challenging themes as it immerses us into the folds of a taut, tricky police procedural that doubles as a window into the life of Navajo culture.

“Winds” brings to life author Tony Hillerman’s 26-volume Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee detective series, bang-up noir-tinged grabbers that were set mostly on sunbaked 1970s New Mexico tribal land. The late author’s work has been a draw for filmmakers for some time, with three PBS films and a mediocre 1991 Errol Morris movie “The Dark Wind” starring a miscast Lou Diamond Phillips as Jim Chee.

Season 3 maintains the same high standards from before and presents a twisty mystery and goes to darker moral places. It’s creepier too, as it digs even deeper into Navajo mythology and legends. You realize you’re in for something scarier from the very first scene of the first episode. It’s freaky stuff.

Season 3 finds the brittle sanity of Navajo Tribal policeman Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon, still deserving of an Emmy) eroding in the aftermath of the death of B.J. Vines (John Diehl) — a fateful figure with ties to his family. His death finished off Season 2.

Burdened by guilt six months later for a variety of reasons including his bending the law, Leaphorn’s psyche grows shakier while he and his more mellow, younger partner Chee (Kiowa Gordon) seek to solve the disappearance of two teens.

The case coincides with suspicious activity occurring near the border where Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) — who used to work for the Navajo Tribal Police with Chee and Leaphorn and had a relationship with Chee — now gets drawn to cocky and handsome border agent Ivan Muños (Alex Meraz).

Further stirring the pot is the appearance of an FBI agent (Jenna Elfman) who starts snooping around into missives about Vines’ death. Her investigation brings back one of my favorite characters from last season: the narcissistic chain-smoking widow Rosemary Vines (played to the diva hilt by Jeri Ryan). It also rubs raw the emotional wounds of Leaphorn’s wife, Emma (Deanna Allison) and strains their relationship.

The stakes in Season 3 are raised even higher for the main characters with the filmmakers playing around in the surreal fringes of what a David Lynch film might do.

New characters playing essential roles include wealthy oilman Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood) and the mysterious, fearsome Budge (Raoul Max Trujillo). How do they figure in? The series takes its time to interlace all these threads.

A lot of talent backs up this series — from showrunner John Wirth to directors Chris Eyre and Erica Tremblay and more — and all that skill is put to great use.

An unexpected treat is a hilarious cameo featuring two of “Dark Winds” best-known executive producers, Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin. It’s brilliant.

Details >> 3½ stars; first episode drops Sunday; you can stream the first two seasons on Netflix, AMC, AMC+.