There goes summer 2017 into history’s dustbin. So long, you burdensome bastard. You began with the firing of an FBI director and ended with a historic hurricane. In the middle, there were a lot of good movies and somehow the lowest box office numbers in nearly two decades. As all traces of the summer’s worst entertainment impulses (looking at you, Baywatch: the Movie) recede into the rearview, it is time to welcome with open arms the most creatively fruitful time of year. Autumn is when the Oscar contenders (not to be confused with Oscar bait) begin to sprout, when network TV returns, and when an unwieldy number of must-listen albums drop. In order to cut through the clutter, have a look at Fast Company’s guide to the most promising movies, shows, albums, and books coming your way in September. If you somehow manage to get bored with all these options available, well, frankly that’s impressive.
MOVIES IN THEATERS
- Animal Crackers, opens September 1.
- I Do . . . Until I Don’t, opens September 1.
- Home Again, opens September 8.
- It, opens September 8.
- All I See Is You, opens September 15.
- Mother!, opens September 15.
- Brad’s Status, opens September 15.
- Friend Request, opens September 22.
- Battle of the Sexes, opens September 22.
- The Lego Ninjago Movie, opens September 22.
- Stronger, opens September 22.
- Loving Vincent, opens September 22.
- American Made, opens September 29.
- Flatliners, opens September 29.
- Kingsman: The Golden Circle, opens September 29.
MOVIES TO WATCH AT HOME
- The Layover, premieres September 1.
- Dolores, premieres September 1.
- Goon: Last of the Enforcers, premieres September 1.
- Unlocked, premieres September 1.
- 9/11, premieres September 8.
- Because of Grácia, premieres September 15.
- Unrest, premieres September 22.
- Lucky, premieres September 29.

ALBUMS YOU SHOULD HEAR
- Hercules & Love Affair—Omnion, out on September 1.
- Joan Osborne–Songs of Bob Dylan [Covers album], out on September 1.
- Mogwai—Every Country’s Sun, out on September 1.
- Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark—The Punishment of Luxury, out on September 1.
- Starsailor–All This Life, out on September 1.
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart–The Echo of Pleasure, out on September 1.
- LCD Soundsystem–American Dream, out on September 1.
- Chad VanGaalen–Light Information, out on September 8.
- Deerhoof–Mountain Moves, out on September 8.
- Jack Johnson–All the Light Above It Too, out on September 8.
- Living Colour–Shade, out on September 8.
- Nosaj Thing–Parallels, out on September 8.
- Rostam–Half-Light, out on September 8.
- SPARKS–Hippopotamus, out on September 8.
- Ted Leo–The Hanged Man, out on September 8.
- The National–Sleep Well Beast, out on September 8.
- Toadies–The Lower Side of Uptown, out on September 8.
- Tori Amos–Native Invader, out on September 8.
- Zola Jesus–Okovi, out on September 8.
- Ariel Pink–Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, out on September 15.
- Deer Tick–Deer Tick Vol. 1, out on September 15.
- Deer Tick–Deer Tick Vol. 2, out on September 15.
- Fall Out Boy–M A N I A, out on September 15.
- Foo Fighters–Concrete And Gold, out on September 15.
- Prophets of Rage–Prophets of Rage, out on September 15.
- Ringo Starr–Give More Love, out on September 15.
- Wyclef Jean–Carnival III: The Rise And Fall Of A Refugee, out on September 15.
- Luna–A Sentimental Education, out on September 22.
- Luna–A Place Of Greater Safety [EP] , out on September 22.
- METZ–Strange Peace, out on September 22.
- The Blow–Brand New Abyss, out on September 22.
- The Bronx–V, out on September 22.
- The Clientele–Music for the Age of Miracles, out on September 22.
- The Horrors–V, out on September 22.
- Tricky–Ununiform, out on September 22.
- Shania Twain-–Now, out on September 29.
THINGS TO WATCH ON YOUR TV OR COMPUTER
- Narcos, premieres September 1 on Netflix.
- Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G., premieres September 4 on A&E.
- American Horror Story: Cult, premieres September 5 on FX.
- You’re the Worst, premieres September 6 on FXX.
- BoJack Horseman, premieres September 8 on Netflix.
- One Mississippi, premieres September 8 on Amazon.
- The Deuce, premieres September 10 on HBO.
- Fear the Walking Dead, premieres September 10 on AMC.
- The Mindy Project, premieres September 12 on Hulu.
- Broad City, premieres September 13 on Comedy Central.
- Better Things, premieres September 14 on FX.
- Sklar Brothers: Hipster Ghosts Special, premieres September 14 on Seeso.
- 69th Primetime Emmy Awards Special, premieres September 17 on CBS.
- Vice Principals, premieres September 17 on HBO.
- Nathan for You: A Celebration, premieres September 21 on Comedy Central.
- Fuller House, premieres September 22 on Netflix.
- Star Trek: Discovery, premieres September 24 on CBS
- The Brave, premieres September 25 on NBC.
- Me, Myself & I, premieres September 25 on CBS.
- The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, premieres September 25 on
Comedy Central. - Young Sheldon, premieres September 25 on CBS.
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine, premieres September 26 on Fox.
- Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, premieres September 26 on NBC.
- Lethal Weapon, premieres September 26 on Fox.
- The Mick, premieres September 26 on Fox.
- This Is Us, premieres September 26 on NBC.
- American Housewife, premieres September 27 on ABC.
- Empire, premieres September 27 on Fox.
- The Goldbergs, premieres September 27 on ABC.
- SEAL Team, premieres September 27 on CBS.
- Speechless, premieres September 27 on ABC.
- The Good Place, premieres September 28 on NBC.
- Great News, premieres September 28 on NBC.
- Nathan for You, premieres September 28 on Comedy Central.
- The Orville, premieres September 28 on Fox.
- Will & Grace, premieres September 27 on NBC.
- The Exorcist, premieres September 29 on Fox.

BOOKS TO READ
- Stephen Colbert’s Midnight Confessions, out on September 5.
- The Golden House by Salman Rushdie, out on September 5.
- Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies by Dick Gregory, out on September 5.
- Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen, out on September 5.
- I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn, Allison Raskin, out on September 5.
- What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton, out on September 12.
- The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye: A Lisbeth Salander Novel, by David Lagercrantz, out on September 12.
- F*ck, That’s Delicious: An Annotated Guide to Eating Well by Action Bronson, out on September 12.
- A Sick Life: TLC ‘n Me: Stories from On and Off the Stage by Tionne Watkins, out on September 12.
- Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur, out on September 12.
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, out on September 12.
- Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss, out on September 12.
- Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, out on September 19.
- Sleeping Beauties: A Novel by Stephen King and Owen King, out on September 26.
[Photo Mash Up: Maja Saphir for Fast Company; It: Brooke Palmer, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures; Loving Vincent: courtesy of BreakThru Films; Flatliners: courtesy of Columbia Pictures; Dolores: Jon Lewis, courtesy of LeRoy Chatfield; Because of Grácia: courtesy of Five Stone Films; Narcos: Juan Pablo Gutierrez, courtesy of Netflix; Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.: courtesy of A&E Network; BoJack Horseman: courtesy of Netflix; The Deuce: Paul Schiraldi, courtesy of HBO; Fear the Walking Dead: Richard Foreman Jr., courtesy of AMC; The Mindy Project: Jordin Althaus, courtesy of Hulu; Vice Principals: Fred Norris, courtesy of HBO; Fuller House: Michael Yarish, courtesy of Netflix; Star Trek Discovery: Jan Thijs, courtesy of CBS Interactive (2); The Mick: Scott Council, courtesy of FOX; Empire: Michael Lavine, courtesy of FOX; The Good Place: courtesy of NBC Universal]