What’s New in Pop Culture: October 21-30, 2024
Releases this week in TV, Music, Movies & Games
TELEVISION
Monday 10/21: “Poppa’s House” (CBS; Comedy)
Damon Wayans and his son, Damon Wayans Jr., star in this sitcom about a talk-radio host who is challenged by his new co-anchor, and raising his adult son.
Monday 10/21: “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX/Hulu; Comedy/Horror)
It’s the final season for the wacky vampire sitcom, with a three-episode premiere. Given how unhinged this show has been when it was continuing, imagine how insane it will be wrapping up.
Wednesday 10/23: “The Comeback: 2004 Red Sox” (Netflix; Documentary/Sports)
This documentary series chronicles the Boston Red Sox’s quest for their first World Series win in 86 years via interviews with players, staff, and more.
Thursday 10/24: “Territory” (Netflix; Drama)
If you enjoy the sprawling “Yellowstone” family drama, check out this Australian family epic. Anna Torv (“Fringe”) stars as a cattle-ranching dynasty engages in a battle for succession in the Outback.
Thursday 10/24: “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (Paramount+; Animation, Sci-Fi)
It’s the final season for the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos, which means Boimler and colleagues will encounter any number of “Star Trek” easter eggs before they beam out for good.
Thursday 10/24: “Like a Dragon: Yakuza” (Prime Video; Crime, Action)
This new series, based on the classic Sega video game, follows contemporary gangsters in the complicated and colorful underbelly of Japan.
Friday 10/25: “Before” (Apple TV+; Thriller, Drama)
Billy Crystal stars as a child psychiatrist who treats a disturbed young boy who seemingly has a supernatural connection to the doctor’s late wife; also starring Judith Light and Rosie Perez.
Sunday 10/27: “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO; Comedy)
The third and final season for HBO’s Peabody Award-winning comedy about a grieving woman who returns home to her small town in Kansas, and finds herself in a community of fellow outsiders.
MUSIC
Friday 10/25: Bastille & (Indie Pop)
The band behind “Pompeii” releases its new album — pronounced “ampersand” — part of a complicated four-part project.
Friday 10/25: Andrea Bocelli Duets (Pop, Classical)
Congrats; here’s your Christmas present for Mom this year. Bocelli celebrates 30 years on the global stage with an album featuring collabs old and new, including with Gwen Stefani and Shania Twain.
Friday 10/25: Bootsy Collins Album of the Year #1 Funkateer (R&B, Funk)
The ageless funk bassist returns for his first album in four years, with the best title I’ve heard in a long time.
Friday 10/25: Halsey The Great Impersonator (Pop)
Halsey can be a challenging pop-culture figure, but her music is genuinely excellent. She has said this may be the last album she ever makes, but…Halsey says a lot of things.
Friday 10/25: Kelsea Ballerini PATTERNS (Country Pop)
One of the bigger new voices in female country pop returns with her fifth studio album.
Friday 10/25: Pixies The Night the Zombies Came (Alt-Rock)
Although it’s being released in Spooky Season, and sounds like a horror concept album, this 10th studio album from the alt-rock icons is not explicitly a Halloween project.
MOVIES
Thursday 10/24: Canary Black (Prime Video; Action, Spy Drama)
From the director of Taken, this film stars Kate Beckinsale in a variety of wigs as an ex-CIA agent blackmailed by terrorists to save her kidnapped husband.
Friday 10/25: Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Disney+; Documentary, Music)
Go behind the scenes of The Boss and his band as this special explores what goes into making their legendary live performances, including rehearsal footage, archival clips, and interviews with Bruce.
Friday 10/25: Don’t Move (Netflix; Thriller, Horror)
Sam Raimi produces this film in which a young woman tries to survive in the woods after being injected by a paralytic and chased by a murderer. With Finn Witrock (“American Horror Story”).
Friday 10/25: Memoir of a Snail (Limited; Animated, Comedy)
This critically acclaimed stop-motion film features the voice of Sarah Snook (“Succession”) in a story of an eccentric, snail-obsessed woman who finds a renewed lust for life.
Friday 10/25: Venom: The Last Dance (Wide; Super-Hero, Action)
I guess we have reached the point where we have a Venom film trilogy, which is…wild. Lots of rumors about this Tom Hardy-led threequel that explores more of the symbiote’s past.
Friday 10/25: Conclave (Limited; Drama)
Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini star in this fictitious exploration of a conspiracy deep inside the Catholic Church as it chooses a new pope.
GAMES
Tuesday 10/22: Alan Wake 2: The Lake House (PC, PS5, Xbox S|X; DLC, Horror)
The second and final DLC for the survival horror game takes an FBI agent into the Lake House for more scares.
Tuesday 10/22: Fear the Spotlight (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox S|X; Horror, Puzzle)
This deliberate throwback to PS1-style games from Blumhouse sees two teenagers break into a high school at night, perform a seance, and relive a tragedy from years past.
Friday 10/25: Sonic x Shadow Generations (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox S|X; Action, Platformer)
This standalone installment in the Sonic universe features Shadow the Hedgehog as the protagonist as he goes through levels in previous Sonic games to pursue his enemy, Black Doom.
Friday 10/25: Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox S|X; Shooter)
The 21st (!) edition of the Call of Duty games takes you back to 1991 as two rogue agents try to take down a cabal that has infiltrated the CIA.