The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Medium to stars takes readings on the road in ‘Seatbelt Psychic’
“We keep it as organic and natural as possible. Nobody wants to do a show that’s based on something that’s not really happening. And people have all sorts of reactions to it, just like in the real world.” — Thomas John
Thomas John doesn’t know any of the people who find their way into his ride-share car, but once they’re in the back seat, belts buckled, destination decided? Well, that’s another story entirely for the host of the new reality series “Seatbelt Psychic.”
John, who says he’s a psychic medium who can predict the future and communicate with the dead, found a measure of fame thanks to media appearances that include “Entertainment Tonight,” the Wall Street Journal, “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and US Weekly. Having famous clients such as Courteney Cox, Stevie Nicks, Jennifer Lopez and Goldie Hawn made him a bit of a celebrity, too, though it was a behind-the-scenes player he met a year or so ago who helped create the new show, he says.
“Basically it came about sort of a serendipity,” John says of meeting Zeb Newman, a producer on “The Late, Late Show With James Corden.” “We ended up talking about TV concepts and stuff and he asked me, ‘What would you think about doing a reading in a car?’ I said, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know, I’ve never done that before.’ “
Corden’s recurring “Carpool Karaoke” segments have become the best-known parts of his after-your-bedtime talk show, and using that as inspiration, John and Newman pitched their idea and landed “Seatbelt Psychic” at Lifetime. It airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
“I know nothing about the people who are getting into the car,” John says of the series shot in Los Angeles. “People get in believing they are getting in a ride share which is taking them to a destination. Then I tell them who I am and what I do, and we see if they’re open to that.
“We keep it as organic and natural as possible,” he says. “Nobody wants to do a show that’s based on something that’s not really happening. And people have all sorts of reactions to it, just like in the real world.”
And while he’s often done his psychic medium work in theaters with large crowds, the more intimate confines of a car have their own charms, John says.
“Part of the reason I was interested in doing the show was because I thought, ‘Well, this is a way that I can reach people who would never be seeking this out,’ “he says. “And that’s basically what’s happened.
“And as far as the driving, it’s not all that distracting. It tends to relax me a bit, because I tend to get anxiety before a reading.”
John says he was a young boy when he discovered his abilities, though he didn’t really understand them at the time.
“I was about 4 years old,” he says. “I saw my grandfather, who was my father’s father. He had passed away but I was getting images from him that I shared with my parents.
“At first it was sort of like whatever. I don’t think anybody thought about it a lot: ‘Oh, he’s got an imagination!’ I think as things started to come through, 7 or 8 years old, it became more specific. There were things I wouldn’t know.
“That’s when I started to feel, ‘OK, everybody’s not seeing what I’m seeing,’ and I felt kind of weird,” John says.
He pushed those things down inside himself and ignored them as best he could, enrolling at the University of Chicago, where he finished his pre-med education in four years, a perfectly normal career track ahead of him. But he wasn’t happy, and in fact was struggling with serious depression and anxiety.
“In order to combat that I started to meditate,” John says. “I realized I could control my thoughts through that, and that also helped me with my abilities.”
Slowly, and still somewhat reluctantly, he says he started to practice giving readings to friends and family for free, honing his craft while studying the spiritual world with mentors including the well-known Caroline Myss.
“I tell people if the spirit world wants you to do that, they’ll have you do that,” John says. “They will make it happen.”