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Melanie McFarland (page 22)

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

Stephen King, Chrissy Teigen and LeBron James (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/Twitter)

“What a sad, muddled place this has become”: The madness of Twitter’s blue checkpocalypse

Melanie McFarland
Alexander Skarsgård in "Succession" (Photograph by Courtesy of HBO)

The Roys never had a chance: “Succession” sells Alexander Skarsgård as TV’s finest Viking conqueror

Melanie McFarland
Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) with the Darksaber in "The Mandalorian" (Disney+/Lucasfilm Ltd.)

We salute you Bo-Katan Kryze, but the third season of “The Mandalorian” took on too much

Melanie McFarland
Michael Dorn as Worf, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Patrick Stewart as Picard and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi in "Star Trek: Picard" (Trae Patton/Paramount+)

A grand finale for “Star Trek: Picard” establishes why this crew is the greatest generation

Melanie McFarland
Elon Musk (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Elon Musk and “Tucker Carlson Tonight”: A distracting match made in misinformation paradise

Melanie McFarland
Brett in episode 402 of "Love is Blind." (Courtesy of Netflix)

“Love Is Blind” promised a live reunion, only to stand us up. So, what did we learn?

Melanie McFarland
Succession (HBO)

If “Succession” is a competition that ends with a winner, we’d be foolish to count out Marcia

Melanie McFarland
Bill Hader in "Barry" (Merrick Morton/HBO)

Buoyed by Bill Hader’s confident directing, “Barry” saves its best hits for last

Melanie McFarland
A group of public broadcasting supporters gathers in the Hart Senate Office building to lobby lawmakers to keep funding the PBS and NPR on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 (Bill Clark/Roll Call)

“Defund NPR”: As PBS and NPR exit Twitter, which has more value to taxpayers? Hint: not the bird app

Melanie McFarland
Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Grogu, and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in "The Mandalorian" (Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney+)

How do free societies fall? This season of “The Mandalorian” explores several ways

Melanie McFarland
Ali Wong as Amy in "Beef" (Courtesy of Netflix)

What makes “Beef” so seductive? Understanding the intimacy of rage sheds light on that ending

Melanie McFarland
J. Smith-Cameron and Kieran Culkin on "Succession" (HBO)

“Succession”: Dearly beloved, the Roys cordially invite us to a wedding we won’t soon forget

Melanie McFarland
Ali Wong in "Beef" (Andrew Cooper/Netflix)

“Beef” serves up a sizzling hot, blackly comedic revenge story to feed our ongoing anger

Melanie McFarland
Brian Cox in "Succession" (Photograph by Macall B. Polay/HBO)

“Succession”: The Roy family wails through a loveless karaoke night

Melanie McFarland
Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" (Paramount Pictures/ eOne)

We scouted “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” and can confirm that it’s a veritable treasure

Melanie McFarland
Gwyneth Paltrow leaves the courtroom in her civil trial over a collision with another skier on March 29, 2023 in Park City, Utah (Rick Bowmer-Pool/Getty Images)

Gwyneth gets a dollar: A Utah jury concludes Paltrow is not liable, ending skiing collision trial

Melanie McFarland
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow enters the courtroom for her trial on March 24, 2023, in Park City, Utah. (Salon/Rick Bowmer-Pool/Getty Images)

Basking in the soothing Goop that is the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial

Melanie McFarland
Olivia Colman as “Miss Havisham” and Tom Sweet as "Young Pip" in "Great Expectations" (Miya Mizuno/FX)

Olivia Colman on her “Great Expectations” for Miss Havisham: “There’s such darkness inside her”

Melanie McFarland
Brian Cox in "Succession" (Photograph by Macall B. Polay/HBO)

Ready to reinvest in “Succession”? Skim the Roys’ portfolio to get up to speed in time for Season 4

Melanie McFarland
Sally Hawkins as “Philippa Langley” and Steve Coogan as “John Langley” in Stephen Frears’ "The Lost King" (Courtesy of IFC Films)

Steve Coogan on finding “The Lost King”: “It’s not a journalistic piece. It’s a point of view”

Melanie McFarland
Actor Lance Reddick poses for a portrait during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival at the Getty Images Portrait Studio at the Village At The Lift Presented By McDonald's McCafe on January 18, 2014 in Park City, Utah. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

From “The Wire” to “John Wick,” we trusted Lance Reddick as a voice of authority, empathy and comedy

Alison Stine, Melanie McFarland
American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci (Courtesy of Topspin Content/Room 608/American Masters Pictures)

“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci” filmmaker talks about following Fauci’s finale in public health

Melanie McFarland
Bob Odenkirk as Hank in "Lucky Hank" (AMC)

Bob Odenkirk scores with “Lucky Hank,” a frustrated guy who shares DNA with his “Saul” conman

Melanie McFarland
Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams in "Abbott Elementary" (ABC)

Stop shipping the duos on “Abbott Elementary” and “The Bear.” TV needs deeper workplace friendship

Melanie McFarland
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