Melanie McFarland

23 hours ago | salon.com | Melanie McFarland

It is impossible to know what Joan Rivers would think about “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,” despite her leaving instructions for her daughter Melissa Rivers to pass along to “whatever random producer is producing the show.”Rivers’ favorite scene partner and “Fashion Police” successor closes out the special by sharing that note, which opens with, “If you are reading this, I am dead. And given that I am dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me.

4 days ago | salon.com | Melanie McFarland

We are not serious people. Want proof? On the same Thursday that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first U.S.-born pope in history, Donald Trump tapped Our Lady of Box Wine to be the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. This is not to say their titles are equivalent. Jeanine Pirro’s scope of influence is primarily domestic, praise the Lord, while Pope Leo XIV, as Prevost will henceforth be known, holds global sway. Whether that’s a positive development is yet to be seen.

5 days ago | salon.com | Melanie McFarland

Thinking back on the range of mentors I’ve had throughout my career, I've concluded that most fit into two categories. The first belongs to the nurturers: people who invested energy and care into helping me improve my craft, guided me through the nuances of office politics, or lifted me after a career faceplant. A second, the helpers, is a muddier designation. Many nurturers are also helpers who, among other generous acts, advocated for my hire or recommended me for prestigious gigs.

5 days ago | yahoo.com | Melanie McFarland

Thinking back on the range of mentors I’ve had throughout my career, I've concluded that most fit into two categories. The first belongs to the nurturers: people who invested energy and care into helping me improve my craft, guided me through the nuances of office politics, or lifted me after a career faceplant. A second, the helpers, is a muddier designation. Many nurturers are also helpers who, among other generous acts, advocated for my hire or recommended me for prestigious gigs.

6 days ago | salon.com | Melanie McFarland

America is in its throwback era! People tend to mention that these days in the context of concern rather than celebration, but, looking on the bright side, this reacharound to the past brings with it the return of flared jeans, and those look good on just about everybody!Old-school network TV is back—retrofitted for the streaming age. It’s not just the return of weekly releases, but of familiar formats.