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Melanie McFarland (page 25)

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

Patti LaBelle and sweet potato pie (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Thanks, Patti LaBelle: Sweet potato pie will always beat pumpkin in my household

Melanie McFarland
Kevin Costner in "Yellowstone" (Paramount Network)

The “Yellowstone” effect: Welcome to the new era of TV Westerns

Melanie McFarland
"The Great British Baking Show" 2022 cast (Netflix)

In the end, “The Great British Baking Show” proves that uneven bakes can still taste great

Melanie McFarland
Last Week Tonight starring John Oliver (Courtesy of HBO)

“Last Week Tonight” slams the monarchy in a way that may change how we see “The Crown”

Melanie McFarland
Santa Chris (John Tully/HBO Max)

“Santa Camp” breakout on embodying Black Santa: “It is definitely activism for me”

Melanie McFarland
Letitia Wright as Shuri in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (Annette Brown/Marvel Studios)

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earns its inheritance by embracing loss and matriarchal power

Melanie McFarland
Sam Reid as Lestat De Lioncourt, Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Bailey Bass as Claudia in "Interview with the Vampire" (Alfonso Bresciani/AMC)

Changing “Interview with the Vampire” made it more alluring while staying true to its spirit

Melanie McFarland
Tiffany Cross, Host of MSNBC Cross Connection speaks onstage during The 2022 Concordia Annual Summit - Day 1 at Sheraton New York on September 19, 2022 in New York City. (Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)

What Tiffany Cross’ firing from MSNBC tells us about who and what news organizations will defend

Melanie McFarland
Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana in "The Crown" (Netflix/Keith Bernstein)

A matter of character: How “The Crown” squares Charles with our longstanding villain edit

Melanie McFarland
Whoopi Goldberg (Photo illustration by Salon/Twitter/ABC/Jenny Anderson)

Whoopi Goldberg has taken flight from Twitter. But how much does her departure matter?

Melanie McFarland
Ham (Clemens Schick), Kino Loy (Andy Serkis), Jemboc (Brian Bovell) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in "Andor" (Photo courtesy of Disney+ / Lucasfilm Ltd)

“Andor” shows how exploitation leads to the Dark Side, from bureaucratic drudgery to prison labor

Melanie McFarland
Camille (Alice Englert) and Valmont (Nicholas Denton) of "Dangerous Liaisons" (Photo courtesy of Starz)

The enduring seduction of “Dangerous Liaisons” — on stage, film, and now TV

Melanie McFarland
Matt Lucas, Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood and Noel Fielding of "The Great British Baking Show" (Photo courtesy of Netflix/Mark Bourdillon)

Bake fails: Is this the most disappointing season of “The Great British Baking Show”?

Melanie McFarland
Jon Stewart in "The Problem With Jon Stewart" (Apple TV+)

The problem with “The Problem with Jon Stewart” is that it’s not more widely available

Melanie McFarland
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story first look poster (Photo courtesy of Roku)

“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” treats the indulgent, clichéd rock biopic genre like the joke it is

Melanie McFarland
Brian Tyree Henry on "Atlanta"

Sometimes we can go home again: “Atlanta” comes full circle in its final season, only richer

Melanie McFarland
Jennifer Coolidge in "The White Lotus" (Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO)

“The White Lotus” returns with an Italian dream that’s molto bene

Melanie McFarland
Chocolate Bar with Coconut (Getty Images/alpaksoy)

In defense of loving Mounds candy bars

Melanie McFarland
Jada Pinkett Smith on "Red Table Talk" (Red Table Talk/Facebook Watch/Jordan Fisher)

Why “Red Table Talk” is the closest inheritor to Oprah’s mantle as TV’s great celebrity confessional

Melanie McFarland
A woman stands at a memorial outside the Tree of Life synagogue after a shooting there left 11 people dead in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on October 27. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting” is a warning, and a message of resilience

Melanie McFarland
Steve Carell as Alan Strauss in "The Patient" (Suzanne Tenner/FX)

“The Patient” creators on using Holocaust imagery when antisemitism is spiking: “It feels true”

Melanie McFarland
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen in "House of the Dragon" (HBO)

“House of the Dragon” ending flames out after a season of inhaling

Melanie McFarland
Sam Reid as Lestat De Lioncourt in "Interview with the Vampire" (Alfonso Bresciani/AMC)

Beware the rise of vampire shows. It could mean a recession is looming

Melanie McFarland
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Fight" (Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+)

“The Good Fight” differentiates between who has the luxury of tuning out our political troubles

Melanie McFarland
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