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Melanie McFarland (page 34)

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

We Need to Talk About Cosby (Mario Casilli/mptvimages/Courtesy of SHOWTIME)

The excellent “We Need to Talk About Cosby” skilfully opens a necessary, uncomfortable conversation

Melanie McFarland
David Eigenberg and Cynthia Nixon in "And Just Like That..." (Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max)

The tragedy of Steve on “And Just Like That” is that he’s a lot like the rest of us

Melanie McFarland
Kristen Bell in "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window" (Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix)

No amount of wine can make “The Woman in the House” spoof work, despite its charismatic star

Melanie McFarland
Janet (Lifetime Network)

Janet Jackson is finally back in control of her rightful legacy in must-see docuseries

Melanie McFarland
Carrie Coon in "The Gilded Age" (Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO)

“The Gilded Age” is a glittery confection that’s more “Dynasty” than “Downton Abbey”

Melanie McFarland
Yellowjackets (Ian Watson /Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME)

Survival tips from TV we didn’t know we needed

Melanie McFarland
Joss Whedon and Jeff Garlin (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Why we should be thanking Joss Whedon and Jeff Garlin for their candor about workplace misconduct

Melanie McFarland
Temuera Morrison in "The Book of Boba Fett" (Disney+/Lucasfilm Ltd)

Maybe we expected too much of “The Book of Boba Fett”

Melanie McFarland
Single Drunk Female (Freeform/Elizabeth Sisson)

“Single Drunk Female” isn’t just sobriety TV. It’s a show that makes recovery feel universal

Melanie McFarland
Chris Lowell and Hilary Duff in "How I Met Your Father" (Patrick Wymore/Hulu)

Hulu’s “How I Met Your Father” is the sad cover version of a show that’s best left forgotten

Melanie McFarland
Yellowjackets (Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME)

“Yellowjackets” boss on the killer ending revelation “that will blow a lot of people’s minds”

Melanie McFarland
Yellowjackets (Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME)

Now and then: How “Yellowjackets” purposefully reminds Gen Xers of who we thought we’d be

Melanie McFarland
Station Eleven (Ian Watson/HBO Max)

From logos to gender fluidity, what “Station Eleven” costumes reveal in the aftermath of apocalypse

Melanie McFarland
John Cena in "Peacemaker" (HBO Max)

HBO Max’s uproarious “Peacemaker” remembers to have fun in a brooding superhero landscape

Melanie McFarland
Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot in "All Creatures Great and Small"on PBS' "Masterpiece" (PBS/Playground Television Ltd.)

A worthy return for PBS’ “All Creatures Great and Small” celebrates the value of the little things

Melanie McFarland
Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene in "Cobra Kai" (Netflix)

Making “Cobra Kai” great again: The series returns with a parable about the peril of bipartisanship

Melanie McFarland
Adrienne Warren as Marnie Till-Mobley and Cedric Joe as Emmett Till in "Women of the Movement" (ABC/James Van Evers)

“Women of the Movement,” though imperfect, gives life to Emmett Till’s story

Melanie McFarland
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Quinta Brunson in "Abbott Elementary" (ABC/Prashant Gupta)

Amazingly, “Abbott Elementary” finds laughter in the challenge of teaching in underfunded schools

Melanie McFarland
Legendary actress Betty White during portrait session on March 29, 2011 at the Museum of Radio and TV in Los Angeles, California. White talked about her career and her new book called "If You Ask Me". (Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)

Remembering Betty White, America’s grandmother and the first lady of television, dead at 99

Melanie McFarland
Joe Rogan, Nicki Minaj and Aaron Rodgers (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Calling out the saddest sacks of 2021, a reckoning by Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend’s … friends

Melanie McFarland
Lee You-mi in "Squid Game" | Danielle Pinnock as Alberta in "Ghosts" | Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack in "Reservation Dogs" | Samantha Hanratty as Teen Misty in "Yellowjackets" (Photo illustration by Salon/Noh Juhan/Netflix/CBS/Ryan Redcorn/FX/Colin Bentley/SHOWTIME)

From ghosts to cannibals, here are the 10 breakout TV performances of the year

Hanh Nguyen, Melanie McFarland, Alison Stine, Joy Saha
Yvonne Orji and Issa Rae in "Insecure" (Merie Wallace/HBO)

“Insecure” no more: The HBO comedy departs with satisfying confidence

Melanie McFarland
Rutherford Falls, Wandavision, Only Murders in the Building and Underground Railroad (Photo illustration by Salon/Marvel Studios/Disney+/Colleen Hayes/Peacock/Hulu/Atsushi Nishijima/Prime Video)

These MVPs of television delivered greatness in a year that almost broke us

Hanh Nguyen, Melanie McFarland, Alison Stine
KEANU REEVES as Neo/Thomas Anderson and CARRIE-ANNE MOSS as Trinity in “THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS” (Murray Close/Warner Bros. Pictures)

No one can say if “The Matrix Resurrections” is good or bad. Either way, it makes you think

Melanie McFarland
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