What's old is new again this holiday weekend as a number of established stars, bands and TV series attempt to make triumphant returns to the national scene. After you navigate Thanksgiving dinner, here are the pop culture comebacks you'll want to add to your plate.
'Gilmore Girls' gets a long-awaited revival
The beloved cult hit TV series about the relationship between a single mother (Lauren Graham) and her daughter (Alexis Bledel) has only grown in esteem since its last episode aired almost 10 years ago. Unlike other recent reboots ("The X-Files," anyone?), "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," which will begin streaming on Netflix on Nov. 25, is being greeted with widespread praise.
Warren Beatty returns ... as Howard Hughes
The 79-year-old Hollywood icon has been on a self-imposed hiatus from the movies since his notoriously expensive film "Town and Country" flopped in 2001. But Beatty has returned to the director's chair with a passion project that has been decades in the making. "Rules Don't Apply" is an ode to the golden age of Hollywood and a portrait of mercurial mogul Howard Hughes, played by Beatty himself. The early reviews are mixed — but film buffs are happy to see Beatty back.
'Bad Santa' is back and up to no good
If Beatty's brand of comedy isn't your style, the crude antics of Billy Bob Thornton's signature character are coming back to a theater near you. The original film, which came out back in 2003, provided a bawdy antidote to traditional, wholesome family-friendly holiday fare at the movies, and "Bad Santa 2" promises more of the same. This go-round Kathy Bates joins the cast as Thornton's mother and actor Brett Kelly reportedly packed on the pounds to reprise his childhood role of the indefatigably earnest Thurman Merman in this sequel.
New tracks, old favorites
An already stuffed slate of major music releases will get even bigger this week with new albums from hitmakers Bruno Mars ("24K Magic," his first album in four years) and The Weeknd (whose "Starboy" comes the day after Thanksgiving). But not to be outdone are new albums from two powerhouse acts from the 1990s, from very different ends of the musical spectrum: Garth Brooks and Metallica. Both artists have stubbornly resisted the trend towards digital downloading in the past and will test their ability to appeal to a shrinking marketplace with their new LPs.