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Hulu’s new show Shut Eye is available now (the full season!) and comes with a rather interesting premise. As showrunner David Hudgins explained, “When I heard the premise: fake psychic, real visions, [I was like] great, we get that.” Yeah, because you know this guy, played by Jeffrey Donovan, is about to see some STUFF.
“Then there’s this additional layer to it, that these psychic storefronts in Los Angeles are all controlled by one particular group. It’s sort of like the mob has their toe hold in the business and this happens to be the Romani gypsies. It was fascinating to start learning about that culture and understand what these people are about, how they operate these parlors, how it works. It made for some really good characters that I don’t think people have seen before on TV,” said Hudgins.
It’s true, which means the drama required learning some new facts about the intuitive world. “Our writer has actually worked as a psychic and is infinitely familiar with all of the ins and outs of it,” Hudgins revealed. “Sometimes there would be moments in the room where we would sit back and listen as she told the stories which are crazy, and the competition that goes on between these people is very intense. There’s definite territories and turf wars and there’s specialties within specialties.”
But the research didn’t end there, with Hudgins pointing out, “I’ve been to psychics, obviously, as part of my research. I think a lot of people view it as they’re helping people. If somebody wants to go to a psychic and get their fortune told or get some sort of feedback from them and it makes them feel better, that’s great. But there’s definitely a part of the show which is about pulling back the curtain and seeing how all of that works. How these characters operate, how they deal with their Romani gypsy bosses, the sleight of hand, the showmanship of it all. You’re seeing these people go to a psychic and you’re seeing what goes on behind the scenes and how they do it and how they work it. There’s definitely a point of view of ‘Hey, these people are scam artists,’ and there’s also a point of view of, ‘We’re just helping people and if people are willing to pay us to do it then why not?’ I just thought it was a really interesting opportunity for conflict which always helps when you’re writing a drama series.”
Ok, but what about real life? Just how prevalent are these scammers? And how can you tell if the psychic you are handing over your dollars to is legit? We asked a couple of actual psychics for the signs to look out for.
First and foremost: money. “Anytime somebody tells you that you need to give them X amount of money to get rid of something, that’s a red flag,” psychic medium Pam Jenkins warns, noting that fakes are not only found in Los Angeles, but in New York and many other places as well. Obviously psychics will charge a base amount for their services — it is not just a calling, but a profession, after all — but requiring more money from you and promising that paying it will cure all your problems? Not so.
Another sign you’re not dealing with the cream of the crop, is if you can walk right in and get a reading on the spot. “Anybody that’s good is going to be busy and we don’t take walk-ins,” Jenkins explained. “This is also for security purposes, and I need to do my work before a person comes to me. I do meditations before I start the day and then it falls into place with the people that it belongs to as their session starts.” Plus, you shouldn’t be offering up any information right off the bat. “I don’t want to know if they have a problem in their life or if they want to connect with a loved one. One of the things I have to do with people I have to stop them and say don’t tell me what you’re looking for, that’s my job. Anybody that’s worth their salt wants to do it that way.”
“Stuff will come ahead of time,” Jenkins explained, noting that she can get messages in all of her senses, including migraines and physical pains that pertain to her upcoming clients. “Then what happens is it’s kind of like an outline, I’ll get a bunch of stuff that comes in and as I start working with each individual in person or over the phone.”
New York City psychic love coach Ann Johnson agrees. “If you go to a storefront person and you go in and you see someone who has a sign out, if they look like they’re a gypsy they probably are. I’ve had the experience of life. Intuition is something you work on. The people that you go into the street and find for 5 dollars, I don’t know if they’ve worked on that.” She recommends doing your research before reaching out to someone. “If somebody looks at a person’s website or any kind of PR, they know that that’s a qualified person.” Johnson has also studied psychology to help read the people she encounters.
A clear giveaway that a psychic might not be at the top of their game? They tell you that you have to keep going back. “There are clients that want you to help them with every single decision in their life. That’s a dependency and that’s not what this is about. So I won’t let them make frequent appointments,” Jenkins explained.
Johnson echoed that sentiment, stating that, “A sure sign is when they try to get you to come back. That means they’re just in the racket of making money. I’ve had people that come back to me, but it’s not because I encourage them to. If somebody comes to me I tell them right away what I feel and what I sense about them. They give me their problem or what their issue is and I give them an answer. I don’t care if they come back.”
While crystal balls and other props might seem hokey, if you visit a psychic who uses tarot cards, don’t immediately count them as phony. “Tarot cards really do give messages. They are a tool which some people can use to help,” Jenkins went on to say. “But again, more often than not, because it’s easy to do those cards in a 5-10 minute session, a lot of the scammers use those. They also are palm readers and realistically palm reading is a real thing as well. [The fakes] have taken something that’s real, twisted it around, and used it for greed purposes and purposes of lining their pockets.”
If you’ve fallen for a phony before, you’re definitely not alone, Jenkins assured us. “It’s not that people are stupid, they’re vulnerable.”
But you should also know that you can’t just waltz in to see a psychic and expect them to solve all your problems. “If you have something negative going on in your life it means you have a life lesson you’re supposed to be learning, it’s not that you have a curse. You can move on, but if you don’t learn the lesson it keeps coming up again. If you learn the lesson then the negative stuff will stop.” Bottom line? “If the people aren’t willing to do the work they’re not going to make progress,” said Jenkins.
So is a show that is calling most psychics fake actually good for psychics? Jenkins added some perspective to it, saying, “These gifts are very, very real but there are people that use them for dark intentions or they get caught up in greed and they do things as portrayed on the show, telling you that you have a curse or a black cloud or trouble in your love life. Some of them do have a gift, but they’re also good at getting into people’s heads. Just like with doctors and lawyers, there’s good ones and there’s bad ones. It might educate people.”
A show Jenkins is on board with? Charmed. “Their gifts were attached to their emotions. The more emotion they put behind it, the stronger their gifts grew,” she explained, pointing out that her intuition works in a similar way.
If you’re looking for last bit of proof that psychics are indeed real, Jenkins offered this piece of knowledge: “We’re currently going through a global vibrational shift and a spiritual awakening.” And really, there’s been no better explanation for 2016 than that.
[Watch Shut Eye on Hulu]
