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Melanie Mcfarland

Melanie Mcfarland

Salon

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From “Sinners” to “Pluribus,” 2025 was the year of the hive mind

The fear of surrendered will is a common theme in the past year's biggest films and shows. What is that telling us?

monday 8

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Melanie Mcfarland

On “Heated Rivalry,” the smut is the point

The in-your-face sex on this HBO Max hit opens a smooth path to the goal: a profound look at intimacy

26.12.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

The lovable Rob Reiner, as seen on TV

From "New Girl" to "The Bear," Reiner's TV appearances echo the humanism that guided his work behind the camera

22.12.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

Why the Roman Empire still captivates us

The "Spartacus" franchise continues to challenge whose stories get told

20.12.2025 2

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Melanie Mcfarland

How the TV Yule log stole Christmas

From flaming time-killers to franchise-branded blazes, TV fireplaces are now "home for the holidays" to stay

18.12.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

10 shows we loved watching in 2025

From "Severance" to "Andor," here are the series that kept us tuned in to the small screen this year

17.12.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

6 soundtracks that hit a high note in 2025

From Kpop Demon Hunters to the glorious return of Nine Inch Nails, this year gave us TV and films worth dancing to

14.12.2025 2

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Melanie Mcfarland

“The Dick Van Dyke Show” changed TV forever

As the legendary comedian reaches his 100th birthday, Salon examines the impact of his foundational sitcom

13.12.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

The Netflix-ification of Hollywood — What’s the worst that could happen?

Many viewers see streaming services as interchangeable. Would the media merger that may devour HBO change anything?

10.12.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Spartacus: House of Ashur” shows why America isn’t Rome

We chat with creator Steven S. DeKnight and star Nick Tarabay about the resurrection of Ashur, a heel turned hero

10.12.2025 10

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Welcome to Derry” sets racist evil ablaze without incendiary insults

As the season nears its finale, the town's racist destruction burns brightly in vile and deadly acts, not slurs

08.12.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Chefs do that”: The underappreciated holiday joy of “The Long Kiss Goodnight”

Geena Davis's 1996 action flick doesn't get the respect it deserves. Then again, neither does holiday domesticity

05.12.2025 20

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Melanie Mcfarland

“The Fall of Diddy” chronicles decades’ worth of failures to hold a powerful monster accountable

Versions of this story have been told before, but few demonstrate so well how our celebrity worship got us here

05.12.2025 9

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Pluribus” is a fascinating Rorschach test

Vince Gilligan's new Apple TV show lets us project meaning onto a story about happiness at the end of the world

02.12.2025 10

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Melanie Mcfarland

We outgrew “Stranger Things” years ago

With the cast no longer fitting their child-sized roles, it's past time we all moved on from Hawkins, Indiana

25.11.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

“The Beast in Me” is the perfect story for a predator’s era

This vicious thriller shows how far the wealthy will go to satisfy their bloodlust and bring it out in others

20.11.2025 5

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Landman” shows why Taylor Sheridan’s NBCUniversal deal could reshape TV drama

As Billy Bob Thornton’s Texas tirades draw a growing audience, we wonder if NBC will take that as a hint

17.11.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

Watching “The American Revolution” in our fourth crisis

Ken Burns' latest opus is solid storytelling. It also highlights the costliness of our ignorance about our history

15.11.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

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

The Western never entirely disappears from TV, but Taylor Sheridan's neo-Western has revived it for a new audience

13.11.2025 5

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Melanie Mcfarland

In “Predator: Badlands,” diversity is the secret weapon

The latest in the "Predator" franchise is a rallying cry for the underestimated to find strength in each other

12.11.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

With “Prey,” Amber Midthunder gives us a woman warrior worthy of sequels

White women warriors aren't going away, but the heroine of "Prey" proves the appeal in casting a wide net

11.11.2025 70

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Melanie Mcfarland

“All’s Fair” and the problem with Kim Kardashian

Ryan Murphy's latest muse can't act, but her high influence in our misinformation age is what's truly depressing

06.11.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

Maybe “Love Is Blind,” but does politics adjust the lens on this show’s relationships?

The reality show's D.C. season may be the first to feature contestants mentioning past relationships with Trump

04.11.2025 2

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Melanie Mcfarland

The late night rise of “Gutfeld!” is telling us something. It isn’t funny, but that doesn’t matter

Greg Gutfeld's late night incursion forces us to acknowledge that Americans live in two separate comedy ecosystems

04.11.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

Why “Dancing with the Stars” fans love voting for Andy Richter

Watching the beloved middle aged comic on "Dancing with the Stars" shows we still agree on the important things

04.11.2025 5

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Melanie Mcfarland

What’s on the table at Downton Abbey?

TV’s most lavish dinner table reminds us why dressing up for dinner — and making the duck — is worth the trouble

01.11.2025 7

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Melanie Mcfarland

Our serial killer obsession might be making us less human

Devouring shows about Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy reflects our tendency to justify the violence we do to each other

29.10.2025 6

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Melanie Mcfarland

Ryan Murphy’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is an example of the brand undermining the mission

Netflix's serial killer hit could've distinguished itself by centering Dahmer's victims instead of its performances

29.10.2025 5

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Melanie Mcfarland

Pennywise isn’t Derry’s biggest terror

Salon talks to the makers of "It: Welcome to Derry" about building the town's history on America's fears

26.10.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

A nostalgic comfort meal, inspired by “The Bear”

In the tender “Worms” episode, Sydney turns Hamburger Helper into a masterclass in care and doing more with less

25.10.2025 10

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Zola” is a cautionary tale about Black women befriending white women

"Zola," a film that confirms the same white women that smile in your face be the same ones that come for you later

25.10.2025 100

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Breaking the Deadlock” shows us what civil discourse could look like

When illogical shout fests are passed off as debate, this considerate roundtable may be just what we need

22.10.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

We’re all living in Murdaugh Country now

"Murdaugh: Death in the Family" shows how women like Maggie Murdaugh bargained our pain for their comfort

16.10.2025 2

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Melanie Mcfarland

Does mac and cheese belong in a holiday meal? Yes — and here’s my go-to recipe

Our differing views of the comfort classic's meaning and specialness comes out in the open during the holidays

15.10.2025 50

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Melanie Mcfarland

“The Chair Company” is peak Tim Robinson

The co-creator of "I Think You Should Leave" pushes the limits of cringe with his latest comedy

14.10.2025 10

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Boots” shows us what training warriors looks like

The Netflix show follows a closeted Marine and questions the type of courage that Pete Hegseth’s 1990 test ignores

10.10.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

Saudi Arabia’s latest luxury buy? Comedians selling out free speech

The comics in the Riyadh Comedy Festival are just the latest performers hired to shine up brutal regimes

10.10.2025 70

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Melanie Mcfarland

Ethan Hawke’s “Lowdown” hero is doing his best, even though he’s the worst

Hawke, Keith David and series creator Sterlin Harjo unpack the moral ambiguity of messy men with noble missions

08.10.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Task,” a crime drama that dares to embrace forgiveness

Tom Pelphrey and series creator Brad Ingelsby are giving us a thriller about compassion in this age of vengeance

06.10.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

The “Peacemaker” twist is a wake-up call for America

Some of us noticed the problem with Christopher Smith's "best dimension ever" from the very beginning

02.10.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Fights, Camera, Action”: How Jerry Springer exposed the beginning of America’s decline

A new documentary explains how "The Jerry Springer Show" was a herald of the end of American civility

28.09.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

Jimmy Kimmel was meant for this moment

In the tradition of late-night confronting cultural flashpoints, ABC's host is the free speech champion we need

26.09.2025 10

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Melanie Mcfarland

“Alien: Earth” warns us to be careful of the monsters we make

The first season finale reaffirms that our quest to dominate life, and other lifeforms, will likely be our undoing

24.09.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

“The Lowdown” puts a gritty spin on noir with Ethan Hawke’s dirty detective

"Reservation Dogs" creator Sterlin Harjo weaves a mystery investigated by Ethan Hawke's Dude-ly citizen detective

23.09.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

Jimmy Kimmel and the strongman’s fear of comedians

ABC's latest sacrifice to Trump comes straight out of a playbook followed by other authoritarian governments

19.09.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

The “Alien: Earth” terror we can’t unsee

This new space creature doesn't have teeth, but it may be the most unnerving one yet

18.09.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland

The charity case that was the 2025 Emmys

A night of satisfying wins and worthy surprises was dragged down by a bumbling host committed to a tasteless bit

15.09.2025 7

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Melanie Mcfarland

Divorce, “Downton Abbey” style

The final chapter of Julian Fellowes' high society fantasy examines what it takes for a divorcée to make a comeback

14.09.2025 3

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Melanie Mcfarland

Charlie Sheen’s consequence-free life

Netflix's gaze at the star's years of drug-fueled "winning" explains America's weakness for cults of personality

12.09.2025 9

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Melanie Mcfarland

Tearing down the house that Thurgood built

Before Thurgood Marshall joined the Supreme Court, he secured many of the rights his successors are dismantling

10.09.2025 4

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Melanie Mcfarland