Ahead of the Curve: Weekly pop culture calendar

Jamie Foxx is returning to the silver screen this month, with Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” — and he’s returning to the small screen, too, with a hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.”

In other exciting news: Ne-Yo will make his "SNL" debut as the musical guest.

Here's what else you shouldn't miss this week:

Monday:

• “Bones” turns 150 tonight — in episodes, that is, with the premiere of “The Ghost in the Machine.” This time around, the Fox procedural is flipping its script: the story is told from the point-of-view of the victim.
• Seth MacFarlane is on “The Late Late Show,” presumably to talk about his very busy and very successful year directing hit movies and preparing to host the Oscars.
• Stephen Colbert is celebrating “The Hobbit’s” December 14 release a little early. “The Colbert Report” host is welcoming guests Sir Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis this week.

Tuesday:

• Many long-running book series are getting new installments this week: “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Walking Dead” and (yes) “World Almanac” titles are all hitting the shelves.
• Matt Damon, who stars in the upcoming environmental drama “Promised Land,” is on “The Late Show,” just one day after his co-star and co-writer John Krasinski.
• On Fox, “The Mindy Project” continues its much-improved first season with “Two to One."

Wednesday:

• If you’ve spent the last few weeks singing Ke$ha’s “Die Young” under your breath (don't even try and deny it), then today is an exciting day for you: her sophomore album “Warrior" is due out today.

Thursday:

• ABC’s now-canceled sub thriller “Last Resort” continues its doomed run with episode No. 9, “Cinderella Liberty.” The show may be dying, but it could be worth a last-minute look.

Friday:

• December will be a busy month of movie releases — except for December 7. Gerard Butler is headlining the week’s only major release as a down-on-his-luck soccer player looking to reconnect with his family in “Playing for Keeps.”
• Before her flick “This Is 40,” directed by her husband Judd Apatow, hits theaters, Leslie Mann will stop by “The Tonight Show.”