Having the ability to communicate with the dead must be a huge burden. Not only are you superhuman, but you also possess definitive proof that there is life after death—which could be one of the most significant scientific discoveries in all of human history. Instead of becoming a lab rat, though, you dedicate your power—or gift, really—to helping people pretend that they’re talking to their dead relatives, and all you ask in return is a small fee and for your clients to vehemently defend you and your “abilities” on the internet. Basically, you’re as close to God as anyone could get without actually becoming God.
One such master of the afterlife is Tyler Henry, a 19-year-old living in Los Angeles who has just signed a deal with E! for a reality series tentatively titled Hollywood Teen Medium. That comes from Deadline, which says the show will focus on Henry “as he balances his unique abilities with trying to be a regular teenager.” (Note: “Unique abilities” is not a reference to his talent for pitching E! executives on reality shows that are based on manipulative bullshit, but is actually a reference to the fact that he literally has supernatural powers that are totally real.) Henry’s gifts are especially marketable, though, because some of his clients are apparently “today’s most popular celebrities”—a group that we’re going to assume includes at least two or three Kardashians.
Like all good superheroes, Tyler Henry has a fascinating and totally real backstory: After his grandmother died, he starting having “strong intuitive hunches that would later turn into overwhelming visions that proved true.” Oooooh! That’s not enough, though, because he later had a “near-death experience” that forced him to recognize that his “passion, calling, and life purpose is to bring clarity, closure, and evidence to those he is privileged to read.” That’s right, he brings them evidence that he talks to ghosts.
Deadline doesn’t go into this, but we imagine Tyler Henry has also solved a ton of murders, because he’s clearly magic and could just call up the victim and ask them who did it. But, if that’s not the case and he’s not using his powers to solve crimes, then he’s either a secret supervillain or a kid who takes advantage of people who are in mourning—which is probably a worse thing to be. That can’t be the case, though, because they wouldn’t put someone like that on TV. (Well, again. And then another time.)
We don’t know when Hollywood Teenage Medium will premiere, but we know it will be whenever the great Tyler Henry wishes it to be. After all, he is the one who speaks with the dead, so that should make him pretty all-knowing, right? Well, it’s gotten him a TV show deal, at least.