Ahead of the curve: Weekly pop culture calendar

Cancer and comedy? Sounds like a pretty odd combination.

But in their latest movie “50/50,” Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt approach the disease in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, a patient who comes to terms with his cancer and thinks about his priorities in life with help from Rogen's character, Kyle.

“50/50” comes out in theaters on Friday, September 30. Here’s what else you shouldn’t miss this week:

Sunday

• “The Simpsons” are back! The season premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. And bonus: Keifer Sutherland will be a guest voice on the show.

• “Family Guy” also premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET, the “Amazing Race” debuts at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and the series premiere of “Pan Am” is on ABC at 10 p.m. ET.

Monday

• “Gossip Girl” will have its season premiere at 8 p.m. ET on the CW. As we've seen in the promos, we can expect Nate to get involved with an older woman, played by actress Elizabeth Hurley.

• There are also two series premieres to look out for; “Terra Nova” at 8 p.m. on Fox and Rachel Bilson's “Hart of Dixie” at 9 p.m. on the CW.

Tuesday

• Lee Child's: “The Affair: A Reacher Novel”arrives today, and the epic film “Ben Hur” will be released in Blu-ray as a 50th anniversary edition.

• J. Cole's album “Cole World: The Sideline Story” is finally dropping today, along with “The Whole Love” by Wilco and “Lady and Gentlemen” by LeAnn Rimes.

• There’s also a new episode of “Dancing With the Stars” on ABC at 8 p.m. ET and “Parenthood” on NBC at 10 p.m. ET.

Wednesday

• If you can’t get enough of contestants like Xander Alexander, then check out another audition on “X Factor” at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Thursday

• “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia's" David Hornsby will be starring in a new series called “How to Be a Gentleman” at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS. We definitely love “Rickety Cricket.”

Friday

• Anna Faris’ “What’s Your Number?” will be releasing in theaters on Friday. The movie follows Ally (Faris), who revisits the 20 relationships she's had to see if one of them might be her true love. Joel McHale, Andy Samberg and Chris Pratt are also part of the cast, serving as Ally’s exes.

• The horror film” Dream House” starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts will also be released today.

• If you'd rather stay in, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” arrives on DVD.