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Melanie McFarland

Melanie McFarland is Salon's award-winning senior culture critic. Follow her on Bluesky: @McTelevision

Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs and Matthew Rhys as Nile Jarvis in "The Beast in Me" (Chris Saunders/Netflix)

“The Beast in Me” is the perfect story for a predator’s era

Melanie McFarland
Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris in "Landman" (Emerson Miller/Paramount+)

“Landman” shows why Taylor Sheridan’s NBCUniversal deal could reshape TV drama

Melanie McFarland
Washington rallying the Americans (Princeton University Art Museum )

Watching “The American Revolution” in our fourth crisis

Melanie McFarland
Elle Fanning as Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek in "Predator: Badlands" (20th Century Studios)

In “Predator: Badlands,” diversity is the secret weapon

Melanie McFarland
Clara Stack as Lilly Bainbridge in "It: Welcome to Derry" (Brooke Palmer/HBO)

When it comes to body horror, “Welcome to Derry”‘s got female trouble

Melanie McFarland
Kim Kardashian as Allura Grant and Naomi Watts as Liberty Ronson in "All's Fair" (Disney/Ser Baffo)

“All’s Fair” and the problem with Kim Kardashian

Melanie McFarland
Emma Slater and Andy Richter on "Dancing with the Stars" (Disney/Eric McCandless)

Why “Dancing with the Stars” fans love voting for Andy Richter

Melanie McFarland
Rachel Sennott as Maia in "I Love LA" (Kenny Laubbacher/HBO )

Rachel Sennott really does love LA

Melanie McFarland
The cast of "DOWNTON ABBEY: The Grand Finale," a Focus Features release (Rory Mulvey)

What’s on the table at Downton Abbey?

Melanie McFarland
Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein in "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" (Netflix)

Our serial killer obsession might be making us less human

Melanie McFarland
"It: Welcome to Derry" (Brooke Palmer/HBO)

Pennywise isn’t Derry’s biggest terror

Melanie McFarland
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu, Arion King as TJ. in "The Bear" (FX. Copyright 2025, FX Networks. All rights reserved.)

A nostalgic comfort meal, inspired by “The Bear”

Melanie McFarland
L to R: Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr, Tina Descovich, Ann Coulter, Soledad O'Brien and Aaron Tang in "Breaking the Deadlock" (Cristina Tarantola)

“Breaking the Deadlock” shows us what civil discourse could look like

Melanie McFarland
D'Angelo performs at Brixton Academy on February 4, 2012 in London, England (Nick Pickles/WireImage/Getty Images)

D’Angelo took us to bed…and to church

Melanie McFarland
"Murdaugh: Death in the Family" (Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.)

We’re all living in Murdaugh Country now

Melanie McFarland
Tim Robinson as William Ronald Trosper in "The Chair Company" (Sarah Shatz/HBO)

“The Chair Company” is peak Tim Robinson

Melanie McFarland
Max Parker as Sergeant Sullivan and Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope in "Boots" (Netflix)

“Boots” shows us what training warriors looks like

Melanie McFarland
Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ethan Hawke in "The Lowdown" (Shane Brown/FX)

Ethan Hawke’s “Lowdown” hero is doing his best, even though he’s the worst

Melanie McFarland
Tom Pelphrey as Robbie Prendergrast in "Task" (Peter Kramer/HBO)

“Task,” a crime drama that dares to embrace forgiveness

Melanie McFarland
Dave Chappelle at the 56th NAACP Image Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s latest luxury buy? Comedians selling out free speech

Melanie McFarland
Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee and Danielle Brooks in "Peacemaker" (Jessica Miglio/HBO Max)

The “Peacemaker” twist is a wake-up call for America

Melanie McFarland
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (Disney/Randy Holmes)

Jimmy Kimmel was meant for this moment

Melanie McFarland
Sydney Chandler as Wendy and Alex Lawther as Hermit in "Alien: Earth" (Patrick Brown/FX)

“Alien: Earth” warns us to be careful of the monsters we make

Melanie McFarland
Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon in "The Lowdown" (Shane Brown/FX)

“The Lowdown” puts a gritty spin on noir with Ethan Hawke’s dirty detective

Melanie McFarland
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