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Melanie McFarland

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

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
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Randy Holmes)

Jimmy Kimmel and the strongman’s fear of comedians

Melanie McFarland
"Alien: Earth" (FX)

The “Alien: Earth” terror we can’t unsee

Melanie McFarland
Nate Bargatze speaks onstage at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

The charity case that was the 2025 Emmys

Melanie McFarland
Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary in "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" (Rory Mulvey/Focus Features)

Divorce, “Downton Abbey” style

Melanie McFarland
Charlie Sheen in "aka Charlie Sheen" (Netflix)

Charlie Sheen’s consequence-free life

Melanie McFarland
Thurgood Marshall leaves Federal Court in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 29, 1956. (Library of Congress)

Tearing down the house that Thurgood built

Melanie McFarland
Adarsh Gourav, Timothy Olyphant and Babou Ceesay in "Alien: Earth" (FX)

“Alien: Earth” sees our robot future

Melanie McFarland
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
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