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Melanie McFarland (page 22)

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

Greg Gutfeld hosts "Gutfeld!" at Fox News Channel Studios on February 14, 2023 in New York City. (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

The late night rise of “Gutfeld!” is telling us something. It isn’t funny, but that doesn’t matter

Melanie McFarland
Patrick Steward as Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Riker in "Star Trek: Picard" (Trae Patton/Paramount+)

“Star Trek: Picard” challenges us to consider that our icons change, yes even in franchises

Melanie McFarland
Host Woody Harrelson during the "Saturday Night Live" monologue on Saturday, February 25, 2023 (Will Heath/NBC)

Woody Harrelson’s anti-vax joke raises questions about what we excuse in likable people

Melanie McFarland
Catherine Haena Kim and Milo Ventimiglia in "The Company You Keep" (ABC/Eric McCandless)

How “The Company You Keep” maps the anatomy of a dangerous, network-friendly sexual thrill

Melanie McFarland
The Last of Us (Liane Hentscher/HBO)

“What is desire?”: “The Last of Us” director on the apocalyptic wonder of a trip to the mall

Melanie McFarland

Angela Davis shows us why “Finding Your Roots” complicates and strengthens the American story

Melanie McFarland
Don Lemon attends the 16th annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History on December 11, 2022 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN)

Is Don Lemon sexist? Maybe, but that’s just part of the problem for CNN

Melanie McFarland
Party Down (Starz)

The “Party Down” cater waiters are back, but has the now-famous cast outgrown the pink bow ties?

Melanie McFarland
Physical: 100 (Courtesy of Netflix)

The strength of “Physical:100” is in what it has to say about our view of the perfect physique

Melanie McFarland
Penn Badgley (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

“You” star Penn Badgley thinks his killer Joe has “too many sides and needs to die”

Melanie McFarland
Rihanna and Madonna (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

The unreasonable, degrading expectations imposed on stars’ bodies

Melanie McFarland
Njinga (ADESUWA ONI) in "African Queens: Njinga." (Netflix)

With “African Queens: Njinga” a previously overlooked history spectacularly springs into action

Melanie McFarland
Janelle James (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Why do we love “Abbott Elementary” star Janelle James for being bad? It’s simple: “I’m hilarious”

Melanie McFarland
Puppy Bowl (Elias Weiss Friedman / Animal Planet)

Forget the Big Game. “Puppy Bowl” vs. “Great American Rescue Bowl” is the matchup to watch

Melanie McFarland
Reese Witherspoon as Debbie Dunn and Zoe Chao as Minka in "Your Place or Mine" (Erin Simkin / Netflix)

The decline of the Netflix rom-com

Melanie McFarland
Danielle Pinnock as Alberta, Richie Moriarty as Pete, Rose McIver as Samantha, Roman Zaragoza as Sasappis and Sheila Carrasco as Flower in "Ghosts" (Bertrand Calmeau/CBS)

Why we see ghosts in our TV machines may be a sign of the times

Melanie McFarland
Harley Quinn (Courtesy of HBO Max)

The Harley Quinn twisted Valentine’s special brings the raunch and romance to our Hallmark holiday

Melanie McFarland
Melissa Rauch (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/Robert Trachtenberg/NBC/Warner Bros. Television)

“I watched ‘Night Court’ with my grandmother”: Melissa Rauch on reviving the comforting ’80s comedy

Melanie McFarland
James Cameron checks in on Josh Bird and Kristine Zipfel, who are exposed to firgitd waters to test the impacts of hypothermia in "Titanic 25 Years Later" (National Geographic/Spencer Stoner)

James Cameron gives stand-ins hypothermia to try and settle that “Titanic” Jack and Rose door debate

Melanie McFarland
Danny Masterson and R. Kelly (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Are some stars and celebrity cases simply too famous to ensure that justice will be served?

Melanie McFarland
Jason Segel in "Shrinking" (Photo courtesy of Apple TV+)

The therapeutic benefits of “Shrinking” is not necessarily in its shaky depiction of counseling

Melanie McFarland
David Duchovny as Arnold, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Shelley, Jonah Hill as Ezra, Lauren London as Amira, Eddie Murphy as Akbar, and Nia Long as Fatima in "You People" (Parrish Lewis/Netflix)

Where’s the love, “You People”? The frustration of Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill’s interracial rom-com

Melanie McFarland
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (Adam Rose/Netflix)

Everybody relax: Marie Kondo isn’t a fraud. She’s simply as worn-out as the rest of us

Melanie McFarland
Nick Offerman in "The Last of Us" (Liane Hentscher/HBO)

In “The Last of Us,” Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett battle loneliness at the end of the world

Melanie McFarland
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