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Melanie McFarland

Melanie McFarland

Salon

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HBO’s “Lanterns” was always about its heroes’ fears, and our own

To fulfill his destiny, John Stewart embraces what he was trained to reject — and so should we

05.10.2026 9

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Melanie McFarland

Netflix’s “East of Eden” asks if we’ve misread its monster

Zoe Kazan's adaptation of Steinbeck's classic asks us to rethink what leads to evil

03.10.2026 8

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Melanie McFarland

“Cassie Workman is Witchy AF” is a comic spell for a mad world

Produced by Lilly Wachowski, this show is a darkly funny delight for occult history buffs

02.10.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

“The Swan” tested the waters for Mar-a-Lago face

Erin Lee Carr's documentary explores the era before extreme surgical makeovers became a MAGA status symbol

01.10.2026 9

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Melanie McFarland

How Oprah Winfrey became America’s cultural Oppenheimer

Oprah Winfrey shaped what America reads, buys and believes. Not all of it aged well

27.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

The Monkees was our first boy band

Hey hey, Boomers and Gen X after-school TV kids: this one's for you

25.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

A homecoming for “A Different World”

Netflix's anticipated revival prioritizes Black joy at a time when HBCUs and other universities have been targeted

24.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

“Dear White People” visits the “Big Brother” Cookout via a pointed parody of reality show racism

The finale season's "Big Brother" spoof hits just in time for the CBS show to feature a Black winner

23.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

How Bill Cosby, America’s dad, used TV to betray us

For decades Bill Cosby exploited TV to ensure that the public would believe him instead of the women he preyed upon

23.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

Kathy Griffin still won’t stay silent

Nine years after her politicized exile, the comedian still has plenty to say — and so should other stars

19.09.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

The TikTok tradwife tainted by an Andrew Tate connection

Savanna Stone says women shouldn't vote. A YouTube doc reveals who was really behind her rise

18.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

The curious, unsolved mystery of “The Black Dahlia”

20 years after Brian De Palma's misfire, let's apply some hindsight to pop culture's hottest cold case

18.09.2026 10

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Off-color, off-brand: What Kathy Griffin’s and Bill Maher’s gaffes have in common

2 comedians and 2 different gaffes enable us to witness the power of a star's brand

16.09.2026 10

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Mariska Hargitay’s Emmy hosting is a crime against TV

In award shows, making a notoriously boring telecast worse is considered especially heinous

15.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

The tradwife brand may finally be crumbling

Mormon Wives fatigue and Nara Smith's distancing spell trouble for lifestyle influencers

12.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

#TradWives are not real housewives. “Fargo” shows us the heroic difference between the two

Dorothy Lyon is a stay-at-home mom who takes resourcefulness to heroic extremes. A tradwife would never do that

11.09.2026 100

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Melanie McFarland

Looks like Jimmy Kimmel isn’t done dealing with FCC “nonsense”

The "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host announced his Thursday chat with James Talarico will only be found on YouTube

10.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

The “Ted Lasso” problem Ted Lasso can’t see

Although the feel-good show is regaining its stride, there's one yellow card still flashing in the wings

10.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

“King of the Hill” is the real America, if we allow it to be

Hank and Peggy Hill return to a changed nation that needs their common sense and good hearts

08.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

This disarming Agatha Christie show has great chemistry

"Tommy & Tuppence" tops our guide to a very watchable fall TV season

04.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

Gloria Steinem, equal rights revolutionary, dies at 92

The woman synonymous with the modern feminist movement changed society in ways both highly visible and subtle

03.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

Women’s rage is in season again

Hulu's "Furious" speaks to an ancient anger that the summer's biggest movie missed

03.09.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

Ripley burns it all down: On “Aliens” and the dangers of dismissing women’s rage

Women's warnings have always been ignored, our trauma dismissed. Ellen Ripley proves men do so to their own peril

02.09.2026 10

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Netflix’s “Bullsh*t: The Game Show” is the trivial pursuit that fits an era dominated by lies

In the age of misinformation and The Big Lie, of course a trivia game rewarding persuasive deceit would be a hit

31.08.2026 10

Salon

Melanie McFarland

HBO’s “Lanterns” illuminates a familiar double standard

John Stewart's origin story mirrors every Black kid raised for greatness, then denied it

31.08.2026 10

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Melanie McFarland

The Dolly Parton covers everyone should hear

5 artists channeled the Queen of Country's spirit through their own

29.08.2026 10

Salon

Melanie McFarland

HBO’s “Watchmen” trolls history and heroic whiteness in the most extraordinary episode yet

Damon Lindelof's take on history meets up with that of the comic books' to tell a true American hero origin story

27.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Tim Curry’s devilish charm was irresistible

The actor, who died at 80, had a persuasive way of making wickedness look hot

26.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Dolly Parton’s TV specials showed her sparkle was universal

Her telegenic charm turned TV specials into hits — and made that love feel personal

26.08.2026 40

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Melanie McFarland

Sean Duffy’s Great American Road Grift

Tag along with this YouTube road trip if you want to see America through a boring, MAGA lens

23.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Even in loud movies, the power of silence is undeniable

Whether in Charlie Chaplin's classics or action films like "Motor City," sometimes the best dialogue is none at all

22.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Harry and Meghan’s UK return tests a press under fire

The unrelentingly cruel media that the Sussexes moved to America to escape must be hungrily awaiting their return

20.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Hayden Panettiere lived out TV’s myth of the indestructible girl

The "Heroes" and "Nashville" star lived a demanding life weighed down by unreasonable expectations

19.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Here’s why we like some superheroes more than others

Maybe it's easier to be chosen than worthy

16.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

What the Ted Lasso Way doesn’t get about women in sports

In women's sports stories, persuading athletes to believe in themselves is only half the game

16.08.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

HBO’s “Watchmen” takes on white supremacy — Damon Lindelof promises to “troll the white savior”

Damon Lindelof's expansion of the classic comic universe contends with an evil that transcends realities

07.08.2026 20

Salon

Melanie McFarland

Power, respect and conscience: How the women of “Fargo” manage (up) in a man’s world

This season's main women are more alike than the richest of them would like to think, especially now

06.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

“The Shards” is oozing with Bret Easton Ellis vibes

Ryan Murphy’s collab with the American Psycho author brings Gen X's wasted youth back from the grave

06.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

“Watchmen” is a brutally provocative reckoning of alternate history

Damon Lindelof's new vision is more than just a confrontation of white supremacy. It's an indictment of denial

06.08.2026 750

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Melanie McFarland

The end of looking away from violence on social media

Perez Hilton's crisis went out live and unfiltered. That's not an accident anymore.

06.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

This Miyazaki film sees who we really are at heart

"Howl's Moving Castle" is many things, but ultimately it's an honest appraisal of the human spirit

04.08.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

The casting of “The Odyssey” proves Nolan’s muse was star power

The recruitment of Matt Damon and other A-listers to sell a Greek myth makes sense

02.08.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

“Diarra From Detroit” shows what a media merger could cost TV

A Paramount-Warner Bros. merger will mean less diversity and fewer hidden gems

01.08.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

The painful cost of bringing “Children of Blood and Bone” to screen

Days after its trailer debuted, Tomi Adeyemi declared she wants nothing to do with the movie version of her book

31.07.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

Your magical burnout cure is in this Miyazaki film

"Kiki's Delivery Service" is a family movie that holds practical magic for adulthood

30.07.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

The small-screen seduction of the middle-aged woman

Midlife can be as blissful as "The Five-Star Weekend" or as cathartic as "Ride or Die"

27.07.2026 40

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Melanie McFarland

“President Curtis” is a “Rick and Morty” spinoff to believe in

Keith David's man of action won't make America great again, but he just might save it from itself

25.07.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

“The Man Will Burn” accidentally shows why people despise Burning Man

Instead of clearing up misconceptions about the annual desert bacchanalia, HBO's docuseries confirms them

24.07.2026 30

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Melanie McFarland

“A Woman of Substance” is a fiercely old-fashioned revenge saga

This soapy Britbox drama trades worshipping high society for good old payback

24.07.2026 20

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Melanie McFarland

On “SNL,” Jesse Jackson proved he knew punchlines have power

In 1984, Jackson used "Saturday Night Live" to take a "last shot at America's mind" and faulty policies with jokes

23.07.2026 30

Salon

Melanie McFarland