HBO and Barack Obama are In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union

Meanwhile, Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified and On The Trail Of UFOs: Dark Sky are in search of extraterrestrials

By Sulagna Misra | August 3, 2021 | 5:00am

TV Lists HBO

HBO and Barack Obama are In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union

Barack Obama in HBO docuseries, In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union Photo: HBO

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, August 3. All times are Eastern.

Top Pick

Obama: In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union (HBO, 9 p.m.): This new docuseries kicks off its three-night run on HBO tonight. Here’s Saloni Gajjar on Peter Kunhardt’s latest: “In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union follows President Barack Obama’s personal and political journey, combining his speeches, interviews, and previously unseen footage and photos with conversations with his colleagues, friends, and critics. The docuseries showcases how his spiritual formation was inspired by a generation of Black leaders and Obama’s own hopes for a more inclusive nation.”

Throwback Tuesday

The Goonies (Peacock): As Keith Phipps wrote in his 2010 review of The Goonies on Blu-ray, “Some cults form around films unrecognized in their times. Others develop out of nostalgia. Goonies belongs to the latter camp. See it before puberty hits, and you’ll likely become a fan. Catch it later, and it looks like a bunch of precocious brats ambling through set pieces deemed too uncool to cut it in an Indiana Jones film.” Stream Richard Donner’s 1985 film for a reminder of which camp you belong in.

The Little Rascals (Peacock): The kids are a bit younger in this movie, but no less mischievous. Just skip all the parts with Waldo’s dad.

Wild Card: UFO Edition

The anniversary of the Roswell Incident was actually on July 8, but August seems to be the month for UFO documentaries. Today alone, you can stream Petr Vachler’s Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified on Netflix or catch On The Trail Of UFOs: Dark Sky on VOD. The former is an “original factual television series featuring the most recent information and proof exposing the most top-secret government projects that handled contacts with and cover-ups of, extraterrestrial presence on Earth,” while the latter comes from Seth Breedlove and his production company, Small Town Monsters. If you haven’t had your fill of theories on extraterrestrials by August 8, Showtime is premiering a six-part docuseries titled UFO, produced by Glen Zipper and J.J. Abrams.