Thomas John, Hollywood’s go-to psychic medium, is hitting the road with his talent.
John stars in a new show, “Seat Belt Psychic,” produced by James Corden’s Fulwell 73 production company. The show is a spin on Corden’s popular “Carpool Karaoke” series.
“Seat Belt Psychic” follows John as he chauffeurs unsuspecting passengers who think they are trying out a new ride-share app.
CNN recently spoke with John about the show and what he hopes viewers will take away from it.
How did this show come about?
“I met Zeberiah Newman – he’s one of the executive producers of the show – and we started talking about his work and my work. We started talking about ‘Carpool Karaoke’ and he said could you ever do a psychic show and readings in a car? He ended up pitching the idea and we decided to do a pilot. As soon as we filmed it, we realized, wow, there’s something really special here. Lifetime was very interested and it went from there.”
Do the passengers know that they are about to get a reading?
“They have no idea. They think they are getting into a new ride share service … we say there’s a new ride share service, would you be interested in going on a half an hour ride and giving us your opinion? When they get in the car they see the GoPros and the cameras.”
When did you realize you had the ability to communicate with the dead?
“When I was four years old I had connections with my grandfather, I never knew him. He started to give me messages to share. My parents were Catholic, traditional and not really interested in hearing anything about it. I would share it and they would think it’s weird and say, ‘Oh my God you need to pray. That’s Satanic. That’s the devil. We believe in God. We believe in Jesus. You need to stop talking about it.’ When I was seven or eight, I went to school and realized, wow, I really am different from other kids. I see things that they don’t see.”
Do you hear voices in your head?
“It’s like clairvoyance. It’s feelings, it’s hearing, it’s knowingness, it’s images in my mind. It’s hearing those certain voices and it just depends on the person in the spirit world in how they want to structure that.”
If you have a bad message for someone, do you tell them?
“I do let that type of stuff come through. I just trust that whatever comes through is supposed to really come through. I just trust in that. If I am hearing something that I’m supposed to hear, that’s for a reason.”
Which celebrities have you done readings for?
“I’ve read Courteney Cox, Goldie Hawn, Sara Gilbert. [Celebrities] have issues like everybody else. There’s others I can’t technically mention.”
Have you ever had celebrities come through?
“Joan Rivers came through once on Jenny McCarthy’s radio show. It was right after she passed. Joan said, ‘Oh my God, you stupid b**tch you wore that dress backwards.’ Jenny was laughing so hard, because she said it was true that she was walking down the red carpet once and Joan walked up to her and was like, ‘Are you kidding me? You’ve got the dress on backwards!’ And it turns out she did! I’ve had Michael Jackson come through when I did a reading for LaToya Jackson. John Gotti came through when I read one of his family members.
How is this show different from others we’ve seen about mediums?
“A lot of people get in the car and have never heard of what a medium is, or they are religious and they think it’s the scariest thing they’ve ever heard of. There are so many different reactions. A lot of the other shows are targeting those who believe. This is opening it up to the potential that anyone can have this experience.”
“Seat Belt Psychic” premieres July 11 on Lifetime.