TV shows about psychics often delve into the mysterious world of folks with extraordinary abilities to perceive information beyond the normal human senses.
These psychic characters possess unique gifts such as clairvoyance, telepathy, or precognition, allowing them to uncover hidden truths, solve mysteries, and navigate situations beyond our average senses.
From uncovering crimes to exploring the depths of the human psyche, these shows are a blend of supernatural intrigue and psychological drama, offering a glimpse into the power and potential of the mind.
Maggie, Hulu (2022)
We’re starting off with the Hulu sitcom Maggie, which was based on the short film of the same name.
It centers around the titular Maggie, whose gift as a psychic allows her to see visions of the future. Specifically, she can see the fate of both family and friends, and even strangers she encounters in daily life.
With the support of her close-knit circle of friends, Maggie navigates through various challenges and moral dilemmas as she uncovers truths and grapples with the consequences of her powers. This includes learning to live in the moment after she accidentally catches a glimpse of her own future.
That’s So Raven, Disney Channel (2003 – 2007)
Millennials will remember growing up with the classic psychic TV series on Disney, That’s So Raven. After all, it’s hard to forget the iconic glazed look that overtook the titular psychic Raven’s face whenever she was having a vision!
With her quirky personality and supportive friends, Raven uses her psychic abilities to navigate the ups and downs of high school life and to prevent potential disasters from happening. However, her visions often lead to hilarious misadventures as she tries to change the outcomes she foresees.
Thankfully, her best friends Chelsea and Eddie are always there to help her get through it, especially when they need to cover for her sudden space-outs during visions!
Raven’s Home, Disney Channel (2017 – present)
That’s So Raven was indeed such a pop culture icon that 10 whole years after it ended, it was brought back to life in yet another spinoff, Raven’s Home.
Raven and Chelsea are now grown up; in true best friend style, they’re both divorced single mothers as well and now live together in an apartment in Chicago. Raven now has twins Nia and Booker, and Chelsea has her son Levi.
Raven had kept her psychic abilities a secret from her kids, but this all gets turned upside down when they discover that her son Booker has inherited her ability to see into the future.
Psych, USA Network (2006 – 2014)
Psych is a little different from the others, as the protagonist in this comedic police procedural series isn’t an actual psychic! Shawn Spencer simply has really acute observation skills and a photographic memory – a killer combination that allows him to trick everyone into thinking that he’s a psychic.
In fact, he does such a good job convincing everyone that he ends up working as a crime consultant with the Santa Barbara Police Department! Alongside his best friend Gus, Shawn sets up a private detective agency, using his supposed psychic visions to crack cases and catch criminals.
Despite his lack of genuine psychic powers, Shawn’s unconventional methods often lead to surprising results and hilarious antics.
The Dead Zone, USA Network (2002 – 2007)
The Dead Zone follows Johnny Smith, a high school teacher who wakes up from a coma after six years and discovers that he has psychic abilities.
His doctors have assumed that this is a result of his brain’s “dead zone” being reactivated after the car accident – hence, the show’s title.
Johnny discovers he has the power to see visions of the past and future when he touches objects or people. Using his newfound gift, Johnny assists law enforcement in solving crimes and preventing tragedies.
However, his abilities come with a personal cost as he grapples with the moral implications and emotional toll of his visions, especially when he starts to see visions of an apocalypse.
1-800-Missing, W Network/Lifetime (2003 – 2006)
In the Canadian crime drama 1-800-Missing, Jess Mastriani discovers she has psychic abilities after being struck by lightning. Her abilities manifest in strange visions that provide clues – albeit not exactly in a straightforward way – that lead to finding missing people.
Because of this, she works as an FBI agent, using her visions to help solve cases.
Jess struggles to balance her personal life with her demanding job, all while coming to terms with her newfound gift. Alongside her partner, FBI agent John Pollock, Jess dives into each case, using her psychic insights to uncover clues and track down the missing individuals.
The InBetween, NBC (2019)
The InBetween revolves around Cassie Bedford, a woman who has the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
She’s had a tough childhood after her mother abandoned her, but her adoptive parents, Tom and Brian, raised her and helped her cope with her gift. Now, she assists Tom, who is a detective with the Seattle PD, in solving murder cases by receiving visions from the deceased victims and providing crucial insights into the crimes.
Cassie struggles to balance her gift with her desire for a normal life, all while navigating her relationships with both the living and the dead. As she delves deeper into each case, Cassie confronts her own past traumas and discovers the true extent of her psychic abilities.
Medium, NBC/CBS (2005 – 2011)
Medium is similar to The InBetween in that the psychic at the center of the show, Allison DuBois, is able to communicate with the dead.
However, her dreams are also often plagued by visions of both the past and the future! She works for the district attorney’s office in Phoenix, Arizona, as a consultant on many of their cases.
Her abilities have become a family affair, however, as all three of her daughters have inherited her psychic skills. With her husband and daughters’ help, Allison navigates the challenges of raising a family while juggling her demanding job and the emotional toll of her psychic encounters.
Seeing Things, CBC (1981 – 1987)
Louis Ciccone, the psychic protagonist of the 80s mystery drama series Seeing Things, is described as having ‘postcognitive’ visions – which basically means he is able to see things after they’ve already happened.
As a journalist for the Toronto Gazette newspaper, it’s certainly a very handy skill to have!
He can’t control his visions but he is determined to investigate them as soon as they occur, and every foray into a vision leads to another that provides more clues about the crime cases until he is eventually able to solve them. That means he’s always ahead of his colleagues in getting the headline scoop, too!
The Listener, CTV (2009 – 2014)
Canadian drama series The Listener follows the story of Toby Logan, a paramedic with the ability to read minds.
Initially, Toby keeps his gift a secret from most people around him and takes it upon himself to help those in crisis while working as a paramedic. As the series progresses, however, and more people become aware of his gift, Toby eventually ends up assisting the police in solving crimes by listening to the thoughts of both victims and perpetrators.
Alongside his close friend, partner, and confidant, Oz, Toby delves into the minds of others to uncover clues and bring justice to those in need.
Wonderfalls, Fox (2004)
Going back into comedic territory is Fox’s Wonderfalls, which introduces us to a philosophy graduate from Brown University: Jaye Tyler. Unfortunately, Jaye now feels stuck working as a sales clerk for a Niagara Falls gift shop. Her life takes a much more interesting turn when, suddenly, she starts receiving messages from inanimate objects, compelling her to intervene in people’s lives.
Although Jaye is not a traditional psychic, her ability to communicate with objects leads her into various adventures and moral dilemmas.
Despite her initial reluctance, throughout this chaotic series, Jaye discovers the profound impact her actions can have on others, leading her on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth.
Ghost Whisperer, CBS (2005 – 2010)
Yet another TV show psychic who communicates with the dead is Melinda Gordon, the protagonist of the supernatural drama series Ghost Whisperer.
Melinda is a woman with a seemingly normal life: a husband, (eventually) a son, and a business selling antiques. However, very few people around her are aware of her gift and some that find out about it tend to push her away or treat her with skepticism.
Despite that, she tries her best to help the spirits figure out and resolve their unfinished business so they can move on to the afterlife – even if these spirits are sometimes less than friendly.
Charmed, The WB (1998 – 2006)
Charmed revolves around three sisters, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell, who discover they are the most powerful witches in the world, known as the Charmed Ones, and are destined to protect humans from the evil creatures that they don’t even know about.
Phoebe, the youngest of the sisters, later finds out she has the psychic ability of premonition, which allows her to see glimpses of the future. As she develops her powers, she also gains the ability to see visions of the past.
Together, the sisters use their magical powers to battle evil forces, protect innocent people, and uphold the balance between good and evil.
Midnight, Texas, NBC (2017 – 2018)
If you’re a fan of Charlaine Harris’ work, whose novels were adapted into HBO’s True Blood, then Midnight, Texas may be right up your alley!
The supernatural series was also adapted from a series of her novels of the same name. This time, viewers will meet a young psychic whose name is Manfred Bernardo.
Running from the troubles of his past, he is advised by the ghost of his grandmother to seek refuge in Midnight, a town in Texas. Once there, he finds solace in the other supernatural beings he befriends, but must still deal with the threats from his past.
Wednesday, Netflix (2022 – present)
The Addams family is a staple in the horror pop culture circles, and Netflix’s Wednesday has added to the wide array of media dedicated to the fictional spooky family.
In the comedy horror series dedicated to the eldest child and only daughter, the teenage Wednesday Addams is being sent to Nevermore Academy, a private boarding school for the supernatural outcasts.
Though she is initially avoided by her classmates due to her cold attitude, the discovery of her latent psychic abilities – which she got from her mother, Morticia – puts her in everyone’s good graces when it helps her solve a local murder.
Lockwood & Co., Netflix (2023)
Lockwood & Co. is also another based on a series of novels, though the show’s first (and sadly, only) season only covers the first two books from Jonathan Stroud’s work.
The series is set in an alternative reality, London, where deadly ghosts have begun to rise from their graves. The thing is, adults aren’t able to see them. This phenomenon has led to a stall in the evolution of society in general, and teenagers being in charge of disposing of these spirits.
One of these teenagers, Lucy Carlyle, has come to London to use her psychic abilities to help and ends up at a small agency run by two young men: Lockwood & Co.
Dead Boy Detectives, Netflix (2024 – present)
Speaking of supernatural Netflix shows, we also have to mention the recent series Dead Boy Detectives.
This show takes the psychic angle in a unique direction.
It follows Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland, two teenage ghosts who run their own detective agency. They use their spectral abilities and a touch of help from a living psychic medium named Crystal to solve supernatural mysteries for other ghosts and creatures.
Think Scooby-Doo meets the afterlife, with a dash of dark humor.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, BBC America/Netflix (2016 – 2017)
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is a TV show based on Douglas Adams’ novel series of the same name. The series follows the adventures of the eponymous Dirk Gently, a quirky and eccentric holistic detective who believes in the interconnectedness of all things.
Todd Brotzman, a struggling hotel bellhop, becomes Dirk’s reluctant assistant.
The show also features Bart Curlish, a holistic assassin who also possesses psychic abilities and is seen as a parallel mirror of Dirk. As Dirk and Todd solve cases using unconventional methods, it is soon revealed that Dirk was part of a CIA investigation of those with these special abilities.
Rose Red, ABC (2002)
This 3-episode miniseries comes from the mind of the great horror novelist, Stephen King.
Rose Red lends its title to the name of a reportedly haunted mansion at the center of the show. The story unfolds with a group of psychics, under the leadership of a university psychology professor named Dr. Joyce Reardon, spent time in the Rose Red mansion to try and capture data evidence of paranormal phenomena.
As the team delves deeper into Rose Red’s mysteries, they encounter terrifying supernatural forces and uncover dark secrets hidden within the mansion’s walls.
Premonitions, MHz Choice (2016)
Though hailing from Canada, Premonitions is a French-language supernatural drama series.
At its center is the Jacobs family, where all of the members possess a unique supernatural gift. When word gets out about their abilities, suddenly they find themselves feared and misunderstood, ultimately leading to them being hunted and on the run.
They’re forced to flee from their home in Montreal and seek refuge with relatives in Beltane, despite not having been back to this town in over a decade. What makes this even more mysterious is that they have no idea who – or what – is after them.
The Sixth Sense, ABC (1972)
No, we’re not referencing the 1999 movie of the same name starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment – though as a horror buff, I would definitely recommend giving it a watch!
However, the 1972 paranormal thriller series The Sixth Sense does have similar elements that appeal to anyone’s spooky senses!
Dr. Lucas Darrow is a parapsychology professor at UCLA who also has ESP – also known as the sixth sense. Alongside his assistant Nancy Murphy, the duo uses Dr. Darrow’s heightened psychic senses to solve crimes and mysteries of supernatural origins.
The Girl with Something Extra, NBC (1973 – 1974)
The Girl with Something Extra is a TV show that follows the life of Sally Burton, a young woman with psychic abilities. Sally possesses the power of ESP, allowing her to read other people’s minds. However, her abilities remain a secret from most people, including her fiancé John.
After John finds out on the night of their wedding, however, the newlyweds’ lives take a turn as they try to navigate their marriage around the newfound secret.
As the show progresses, Sally’s ESP becomes less central to the show’s overall plot.
Copenhagen Cowboy, Netflix (2022 – 2023)
We’re going back to more modern release shows with Netflix’s Copenhagen Cowboy, a Danish language supernatural noir thriller series.
The show’s psychic protagonist is a renegade named Miu who possesses multiple psychic abilities – one of the more rare manifestations being that she brings luck to herself and her surroundings.
She has returned to Copenhagen for reasons unknown and while navigating the criminal underworld, becomes entangled with other supernatural beings – both good and bad. Among these is Rakel, whose abilities seem to mirror her own.
Behind Your Touch, JTBC (2023)
One of the more recently released shows on the list hails from South Korea and aired just in 2023!
Behind Your Touch is both a suspense thriller and dramedy and adds that kick of the supernatural as one of the main characters has, of course, psychic abilities.
Bong Yebun is a veterinarian whose ESP covers psychometry, which allows her to understand an object or person’s history better after touching them.
While working one day, her powers get her caught up in a series of murders – eventually leading her to help the hot-blooded Detective Moon Jangyeol solve the case.
He Is Psychometric, tvN (2019)
Last but not least, and also from South Korea, He Is Psychometric revolves around Lee Ahn, a young man who possesses psychometric abilities.
These abilities allow Lee Ahn to read the memories and emotions of objects and people by touching them, which he gained after a tragic personal event that resulted in the loss of his parents. With this gift, Lee Ahn assists the police in solving crimes by uncovering crucial information from crime scenes and evidence.
One such case has been haunting him and his colleagues for a while, especially because it involves the very fire that killed Lee Ahn’s parents and affected the lives of many people close to him.