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Melanie McFarland (page 29)

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

Antony Starr as Homelander in "The Boys." (Courtesy of Prime Video / Amazon Studios)

How “The Boys” measures up with regard to TV’s full frontal assault

Melanie McFarland
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios' "Ms. Marvel" (Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios/Disney+)

“Ms. Marvel” and the dawn of the strict TV supermom

Melanie McFarland
Members of the Janes (Photo courtesy of HBO)

HBO’s “The Janes” spotlights the abortion activists who operated like a spy ring pre-Roe v. Wade

Melanie McFarland
N.T. Rama Rao, Jr. as Komaram Bheem in "RRR" (DVV Entertainment)

Forget “Top Gun.” “RRR” is the ultimate summer movie: explosive, inspiring, with a catchy dance beat

Melanie McFarland
Erin Moriarty in "The Boys" (Courtesy of Prime Video/Amazon Studios)

In the new season of “The Boys,” everyone’s selling out, and society gets stuck with the check

Melanie McFarland
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" (Lucasfilm/Disney+)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” reminds us that the Force is not always with us – and that’s fine!

Melanie McFarland
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in "Top Gun: Maverick" (Paramount Pictures / Skydance / Jerry Bruckheimer Films)

No, “Top Gun” isn’t an anti-woke success story, but rather a tribute to aging Tom Cruise and balls

Melanie McFarland
Actor Johnny Depp gestures to spectators in court after closing arguments at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 27, 2022. (STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As Johnny Depp wins his defamation suit, “believe all women” loses

Melanie McFarland
Pistol (Miya Mizuno/FX)

Hulu’s new Sex Pistols series is a rock ‘n’ roll swindle that plays like edgy karaoke

Melanie McFarland
Sadie Sink in "Stranger Things" (Courtesy of Netflix © 2022)

How “Stranger Things” transforms Max into a dream warrior worthy of Wes Craven

Melanie McFarland
"The G Word with Adam Conover" (Netflix)

Adam Conover on demystifying government on an Obama-produced show: “It was my primary misgiving”

Melanie McFarland
Ellen DeGeneres arrives at the Golden Globe Awards on January 5, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California (Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Ellen can say “gay” now: “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” ends by taking a stand … for celebrity

Melanie McFarland
Justin Hartley as Kevin, Chrissy Metz as Kate and Sterling K. Brown as Randall on "This Is Us" ( Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

After “This Is Us,” which show will hold us while we cry?

Melanie McFarland
Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler in "Better Call Saul" (Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)

On “Better Call Saul,” two devils come knocking, but only one leaves

Melanie McFarland
Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Laura Carmichael in "Downton Abbey: A New Era." (Ben Blackall / © 2022 Focus Features, LLC)

Hugh Bonneville on the enduring charm of “Downton Abbey” and why he was nervous to film “Paddington”

Melanie McFarland
Ncuti Gatwa (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

Here’s to a coming era of “Doctor Who” where showrunner Russell T. Davies helps more kids feel seen

Melanie McFarland
Zazie Beetz as Van in "Atlanta" (Roger Do Minh/FX)

When “Atlanta” met the Northman: producer on exploring whiteness and that surprise finale cameo

Melanie McFarland
Elon Musk in The New York Times Presents "Elon Musk's Crash Course" (FX)

“Elon Musk’s Crash Course” warns of the danger of a billionaire’s love of being unreasonable

Melanie McFarland
Kids in the Hall (Jackie Brown/Amazon Studios)

“The Kids in the Hall” are old now, and that makes their comedy still very much all right

Melanie McFarland
Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca in "Better Call Saul" (Greg Lewis/AMC/Sony Pictures Television)

“Better Call Saul” and the chameleonic importance of being Lalo Salamanca: This evil travels

Melanie McFarland
Bill Nighy attends the premiere of Showtime's "The Man Who Fell To Earth" at Museum of Modern Art on April 19, 2022 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

“I’m not David Bowie”: Bill Nighy picks up where the legend left off in “The Man Who Fell to Earth”

Melanie McFarland
Theo James and Rose Leslie in "The Time Traveler's Wife" (Macall Polay/HBO)

The naked truth about “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is that it would be a mess in any era

Melanie McFarland
Hacks (Karen Ballard/HBO Max)

HBO’s brutal comedy “Hacks” returns with raw, bloody candor, rising to even greater heights

Melanie McFarland
MJ (Zendaya) prepares to freefall with Spider-man in "Spiderman: No Way Home" (Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures)

Racist attacks on a Black girl earning a supposedly “white” role aren’t about canon but excellence

Melanie McFarland
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