By Sarah Li
Films
With the cooling seasons comes a cascade of new films. The Social Network, dramatizing the turbulent history of Facebook’s founding fathers, hits theaters next Friday amidst a flurry of online chatter. Red (Oct. 15), a film about a retired black-ops agent threatened by an assassin, manages to squeeze itself in just before the annual onslaught of Halloween-inspired thrillers:Paranormal Activity 2 (Oct. 22) and Saw 3D (Oct. 29).
The final months bring a number of highly anticipated hits with the first segment of the final Harry Potter installment (Nov. 9) and Tron: Legacy (Dec. 17). Family films, includingMegamind (Nov. 5) and Tangled (Nov. 24), pepper the winter season.
Rounding out 2010 is a group of potentially great films—perhaps in a last-ditch effort for Oscars—with psychological thriller Black Swan (Dec. 1) and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere (Dec. 22), a film about a reckless actor whose daughter’s surprise visit forces him to alter his lifestyle.
Music
The final seasons promise to end the year spectacularly as Bruno Mars kicks off October with his album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Oct. 5). Belle & Sebastian’s Write About Love, Kings of Leon’s Come Around Sundown and Ne-Yo’s Libra Scale will all be released on October 12.
Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Oct. 26) and Kanye West’s Dark Twisted Fantasy (Nov. 16), whose release dates are separated by less than a month, will likely draw relentless media attention, especially with their clashing VMA performances. November will also see Kid Cudi’s album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (Nov. 9).
After a highly successful year, Cee Lo Green ends 2010 in hip-hop and funk with the release of his third solo album, The Lady Killer (Dec. 17).
Television
After the conclusion of many loved shows last season, the networks have been itching to fill the gaps in their schedules. Capitalizing on the success of sci-fi, The Event (NBC) follows Sean Walker who becomes involved in an alien invasion cover-up, while No Ordinary Family (ABC) revolves around a family who gains special abilities after crashing in the Amazon. The spy genre grows this season as J. J. Abrams (of Lost fame) introduces Undercovers (NBC) and the CW premieres Nikita.
Being introduced this fall is also a bevy of comedies: $#*! My Dad Says (CBS) based on the eponymous Twitter feed, the cheer drama Hellcats (CW), and Outsourced (NBC) based on the romantic comedy about culture clash.
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