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Melanie McFarland

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

Mark Ruffalo and Martha Plimpton in "Task" (Peter Kramer/HBO)

“Task” balances grit with grace

Melanie McFarland
(l-r) Alex Edelman as Adam, Gbemisola Ikumelo as Adelola, Domhnall Gleeson as Ned and Melvin Gregg as Detrick in "The Paper" (Aaron Epstein/Peacock)

“The Paper” and the politics of the workplace mockumentary

Melanie McFarland
Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier in "Alien: Earth" (FX)

“Alien: Earth” and the foot on our necks

Melanie McFarland
John Cena, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Holland in "Peacemaker" (Erin Sintoes/HBO Max)

The heroic queerness of “Peacemaker”

Melanie McFarland
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in "With Love, Meghan" (Jake Rosenberg/Netflix)

The familiar fury at “With Love, Meghan”

Melanie McFarland
Chris Hemsworth in "Limitless" (National Geographic/Evan Paterakis)

Screaming our way to a fitter world

Melanie McFarland
John Cena in "Peacemaker" (Jessica Miglio/HBO Max)

“Peacemaker” faces a stealthy multiverse of regret

Melanie McFarland
Grace Van Patten as Amanda Knox in "The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox." (Disney/Andrea Miconi)

Why Amanda Knox’s story still captivates

Melanie McFarland
"South Park" (Comedy Central)

“South Park” and the high price of free speech

Melanie McFarland
Sarah Jessica Parker in "And Just Like That" (Craig Blankenhorn/Max)

“And Just Like That” exits with a woman alone at the end of her story

Melanie McFarland
Jessica Frances Dukes and Audra McDonald in "The Gilded Age" (Karolina Wojtasik/HBO)

“The Gilded Age” is at its best when Black prosperity is central to the story

Melanie McFarland
Kristen Johnston and Leanne Morgan in "Leanne" (Patrick McElhenney/Netflix)

TV’s Southern woman strategy

Melanie McFarland
(Photo illustration by Salon / Corporation for Public Broadcasting / Getty Images / ReflectFilms / Luza Studios )

The GOP’s assault on public media will hit rural America the hardest

Melanie McFarland
Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh in "Alien: Earth" (FX)

“Alien: Earth” knows how it’s all going to end for us

Melanie McFarland
"King of the Hill" (Disney/Mike Judge)

“King of the Hill” is the real America, if we allow it to be

Melanie McFarland
"Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross" (Roku )

Tracee Ellis Ross demonstrates the beauty of solo travel in her new Roku show

Melanie McFarland
Jay Leno performs at the Orpheum Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Wichita, Kansas. (Gary Miller/Getty Images)

Jay Leno is wrong about late-night — it’s always been political

Melanie McFarland
Housing and prison activist Malik Rahim, a resident of Algiers Point on the West Bank of New Orleans (National Geographic)

Hurricane Katrina warned us. We haven’t learned

Melanie McFarland
Kelly Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne and Jack Osbourne (KMazur/WireImage/Getty Images)

How “The Osbournes” derailed reality

Melanie McFarland
Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Tempestt Bledsoe in "The Cosby Show" (Carsey-Werner Television)

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was Gen X’s big brother

Melanie McFarland
Stephen Colbert (CBS)

The cruel joke of CBS ousting Stephen Colbert

Melanie McFarland
Filmmaker Ken Burns speaks during a press conference ahead of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of The Battle of Lexington in front of the Minuteman Statue. (Photo by Joanne Rathe Strohmeyer/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Ken Burns meets America’s latest crisis

Melanie McFarland
Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock in "Matlock" (Sonja Flemming/CBS)

Kathy Bates’ Emmys nod says a lot about the state of TV

Melanie McFarland
Sarah Jessica Parker in "And Just Like That" (Craig Blankenhorn/Max)

Why won’t “And Just Like That” let Carrie be single?

Melanie McFarland
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