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Melanie McFarland (page 47)

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

Rainn Wilson as Dr. Michael Stearns (Amazon Studios/EPK)

“Utopia” shows the disheartening problems of pandemic TV

Melanie McFarland
Larry Wilmore of "Wilmore" and Amber Ruffin of "The Amber Ruffin Show" (Photo illustration by Salon/Trae Patton/Virginia Sherwood/Peacock/)

We need Larry Wilmore and Amber Ruffin for the hard truths we’re too chickensh*t to tackle

Melanie McFarland
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence participate in the vice presidential debate at the University of Utah on October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The vice presidential candidates only meet once to debate before the general election on November 3. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Pence vs. Harris: Amid lies and side-eyes, a garbage pile of a debate attracts a fly

Melanie McFarland
Desus & Mero | Stephen Colbert of The Late Show | Michael Che of Weekend Report (Photo illustration by Salon/Showtime/NBC/Comedy Central)

Science and karma: Late night comedy makes peace with joking about Trump’s COVID diagnosis

Melanie McFarland
The Good Lord Bird (William Gray/SHOWTIME)

“The Good Lord Bird” is a zany, rollicking ride through the mania of abolitionist rebellion

Melanie McFarland
Shepard Smith (CNBC)

Serenity now: Shepard Smith returns as the calm eye of the misery cyclone of news

Melanie McFarland
A picture of Jamal Khashoggi in KINGDOM OF SILENCE (Courtesy of SHOWTIME)

“Kingdom of Silence”: A wrenching look at how Jamal Khashoggi’s life is a story as big as his death

Melanie McFarland
South Park Pandemic Special (Comedy Central)

Vote or die? In its “Pandemic Special,” “South Park” presents a mixed message on the election

Melanie McFarland
U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first of three planned debates between the two candidates in the lead up to the election on November 3. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

The traumatizing terror of Trump’s debate performance: We just witnessed an assault on democracy

Melanie McFarland
Chris Rock in "Fargo" (Elizabeth Morris/FX)

In “Fargo,” comedian Chris Rock gets dramatic as a mob boss whose weapon of choice is the monologue

Melanie McFarland
Ellen DeGeneres at the 2020 Grammys (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Thank goodness Ellen DeGeneres got her apology out of the way so audiences can laugh again

Melanie McFarland
Aya Cash as Stromfront on "The Boys" (Amazon Studios)

“The Boys”: With new superhero Stormfront, fascism dons a mask and cape of female empowerment

Melanie McFarland
Director Alex Gibney for HBO's "Agents of Chaos" (HBO)

“There’s no agreement on facts”: Alex Gibney’s look at Russian interference shows America’s weakness

Melanie McFarland
Frontline: The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden (PBS)

“The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden” gives insight into the “life method” of our next president

Melanie McFarland
THE 72ND EMMY AWARDS! Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, featuring video conference with Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, and Courteney Cox (ABC)

The 2020 Emmys give us stars, just like us! At home, waiting for something good to happen

Melanie McFarland
Wunmi Mosaku in Lovecraft County (HBO)

Should a horror anthology like “Lovecraft Country” be expected to speak to any particular moment?

Melanie McFarland
Ratched (Netflix)

“Ratched” gilds pop culture’s most famous nurse into something unrecognizable and barely watchable

Melanie McFarland
Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle in "PEN15" (Alex Lombardi)

“PEN15” returns for another swim into the messiness of seventh grade

Melanie McFarland
Police Vehicles (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Frontline’s “Policing the Police 2020” shows Newark’s troubled police force slouching towards reform

Melanie McFarland
Paris Hilton (CBS This Morning)

“This is Paris” is a quixotic redemption story about what it means to be a human and a brand at once

Melanie McFarland
Abbey Lee in "Lovecraft County" and Reese Witherspoon in "Little Fires Everywhere" (Photo illustration by Salon/HBO/Hulu)

“Lovecraft Country” sorceress is America’s Next Top Karen, joining TV’s other ultimate Karens

Melanie McFarland
Sarah Paulson in "Coastal Elites" (HBO)

“Coastal Elites” is a noble attempt to clap back at Trump’s America in the time of quarantine

Melanie McFarland
The Duchess (Oliver Upton/NETFLIX)

“The Duchess” proves that not every stand-up comedian should get a series

Melanie McFarland
Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson in "Unpregnant" (Ursula Coyote)

“Unpregnant” takes a serious subject and makes it the reason for a road trip

Melanie McFarland
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