The Best TV Shows and Movies to Watch This Week: The Suicide Squad, HBO's Barack Obama Documentary

This week, there's an eclectic mix of premieres this week to help you kick off the month of August. The biggest release, of course, is James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, which you can choose to go see in an actual movie theater, or from the comfort of your own home via HBO Max. This week also marks the premiere of HBO's three-part Barack Obama (heard of him?) docuseries, Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union. And for something completely different, there's Cooking With Paris on Netflix, a show in which Paris Hilton, yes, technically does what can be classified as cooking.

Our list of editors' picks for the week of August 1-7 is below, but if that's not enough and you're looking for even more hand-picked recommendations, check out our picks for last week or sign up for our free, spam-free Watch This Now newsletter that delivers the best TV show picks straight to your inbox. You can also look at our massive collection of recommendations, as well as our list of suggestions of what to watch next based on shows you already like.

Pier Kids

Monday at 10/9c on PBS
The latest documentary in PBS' POV series follows a group of young queer people of color who spend their time hanging out on New York City's Christopher Street Pier, forming relationships and building a community. It focuses on the ways they navigate homelessness and homophobia, and how they use the Pier as a place to find themselves. It seems a little like a spiritual successor to Paris Is Burning, updated for the modern age. [TRAILER]

Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump

Monday on HBO Max
Two movies from the master of weirdo Americana, Christopher Guest, hit HBO Max at the top of the month: A Mighty Wind and Best in Show. But if you thirst for more of that in an unscripted setting, check out this adorable docuseries about a small news station in Nevada that's full of odd and charming characters all working together to bring you a working news broadcast. -Tim Surette [TRAILER]

Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union

Tuesday on HBO Max
The coolest thing about being president is the library. The second coolest thing is the biography you get, and HBO's Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union is the most definitive portrait of #44 yet. The three-episode docuseries tracks Obama's life from childhood to becoming one of the country's most respected presidents during one of the country's most tumultuous eras. Stay tuned for Trump: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Cheeseburger. I kid, I kid! -Tim Surette [TRAILER

Pray Away

Tuesday on Netflix
Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum executive produce this documentary about Exodus International, an Evangelical group formed in the '70s that claims it can turn gay people straight through prayer and conversion therapy. What's most interesting about this film is that it features interviews with ex-leaders who are now speaking out against the movement they were part of for so many years. [TRAILER]

Cooking With Paris

Wednesday on Netflix
Did you know Paris Hilton is secretly a renowned, highly talented chef? I'm kidding, she's not at all, which is part of the gimmick of her new series. Hilton, who doesn't seem to know the first thing about cooking, invites her famous friends like Kim Kardashian West and Demi Lovato over to her house to help her make various dishes, to varying degrees of success. I can't say if this show will be "good" or "worth anyone's time," but I know I'll be watching. I mean, she has a diamond-encrusted spatula. [TRAILER]

The Suicide Squad

Friday on HBO Max (also in theaters)
Soon, every single movie released will be a superhero movie, and we'll sit there slack-jawed and drooling just taking it in as the movie studio machine injects a constant stream of them into our eyeballs. Well, here's another. You might be thinking that you've already seen The Suicide Squad when what you really saw was 2016's Suicide Squad (no "The"), the dark and violent David Ayer outing that just about disappointed everyone. This time, James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) takes over behind the camera, allegedly adding more irreverent humor and over-the-top violence that fits the franchise, and with a cast that includes Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis, maybe it won't suck! -Tim Surette

Val

Friday on Amazon Prime Video
Val Kilmer gets the autobiographical treatment in this intimate documentary about his life and career. Kilmer lends his own home movies he's taken over the years to the film -- which includes videos from the set of Batman Forever, and footage of younger versions of Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon just hanging out -- and provides a look at his struggle with throat cancer, from which he's still recovering and has left him using a prosthesis in order to speak. It seems more revealing than the standard celebrity doc, and that's enough to get me to watch. [TRAILER]

Vivo

Friday on Netflix
Lin-Manuel Miranda lends his voice to this movie about Vivo (Miranda), a kinkajou who spends his days playing music in Cuba with his owner, Andres (Juan de Marcos González). When Andres' former partner announces her farewell concert in Miami, Vivo decides to travel there in order to help reunite the two. Frankly, this sounds adorable. [TRAILER]