America's Psychic Challenge was a television reality show that appeared on the Lifetime Network in 2007. It was billed as a psychic game show, and it ran for one season and featured various competitions to determine who was America's #1 psychic.
About America's Psychic Challenge Television Show
The show had eight episodes beginning in October of 2007. It wasn't renewed for a second season.
Initial Rounds of Competition
The first four episodes featured four psychics each. The psychics engaged in various psychic competitions, such as remote viewing, finding someone who was lost, a personal reading, and other challenges. Based on a points system awarded throughout the challenges, each episode had a "winner" who advanced to the quarter-finals along with their second place runner-up.
Quarter Finals
Episodes five and six were quarter-finals episodes where the eight remaining psychics went head-to-head with competitions similar to the initial rounds. The top two from each episode moved forward to the semi-finals.
Semi Finals
Episode seven featured the semi-finals, where the top four finalists were challenged in similar competitions as the previous episodes. The top two from this episode moved forwarded to compete head-to-head in the finals.
Finals
The finals aired on November 30, 2007, and a winner was declared.
Challenges Tested Psychic Activities
There were several challenges in each episode. Although the exact challenge varied from episode to episode, they all had the same goals.
Reading a Space
Psychics were taken blindfolded to a location where something had happened (for example, one was the hotel room where Janis Joplin overdosed and died), and they had to provide information they picked up from that location. Points were awarded based on the accuracy of the information.
Finding Someone
In this challenge, each person had to determine where someone was hidden. For example, in one episode, a man was hidden in a room at an empty hospital, and the psychics were timed as to how quickly they were able to find the man. Points were awarded based on time.
Matching Challenge
In this challenge, the psychics had to match a person to something personal. For example, one challenge was a pet match challenge where the psychic was asked to match a pet to its owner. Points were awarded based on accuracy.
Reading Challenge
Psychics sat behind a wall with a client on the other side and performed a psychic reading. Points were awarded based on accuracy. For example, in one episode, psychic Lisa Williams sat behind a wall and the psychic readers tried to discover information about her without seeing her or having her speak.
Remote Viewing Challenge
In the remote viewing challenge, the psychics were asked to determine who was in a room behind four closed doors. They were awarded points based on how accurate the reading was, such as whether a person was there, whether they were sitting or standing, whether they were male or female, or what they were doing.
Psychics and Personalities on the Show
Actor John Burke hosted all episodes of the challenge.
Episode 1
In the first episode, four psychics competed.
- Karyn Reece is a psychic medium based in New York. She has been on multiple television programs, and she currently has a local television program on WBBZ called Psychic Encounters.
- Jackie Barrett is a New Orleans-based psychic medium and author.
- Jamie Clark is a psychic medium based in Arizona who supplies psychic readings in person, on the phone, or in group settings.
- California psychic Zenobia Simmons has been a psychic since she was a child, and she is a regular guest in media sharing her psychic insights.
Episode 2
The four psychics competing in the second episode included:
- Silvana Fillmore, an Australian psychic medium currently working in Beverly Hills
- Joseph McBratney (a.k.a. Joe Brat), a psychic and private detective specializing in lost person cases
- Lynn Miller, a psychic medium and empath who currently hosts a radio show called The View from Beyond with Lynn Miller
- Naryza, a psychic medium who only used her gift to work with friends and family
Episode 3
Four new contestants competed, including:
- Tori Allah, an Orange County psychic medium who is also an animal communicator (pet psychic)
- Catherine Powell, who has very little public information available, other than the listing noting her appearance on this show
- Joseph Tittel, a spiritual medium who has been communicating with spirits since he was a child
- Michelle Whitedove, an author and psychic who has appeared in various media for her work as a psychic
Episode 4
This was the fourth and final qualifying round, and it featured four new contestants, including:
- Jeff Baker, who is a healer, empath, and psychic medium
- Sloan Bella, who started her professional life as a psychic at age 17
- Kim Stempien, who went only by the initials M.W. on the episode
- Robin Zodiac, a self-billed "famous celebrity psychic"
The Winner of America's Psychic Challenge
The final episode came down to a head-to-head competition between Michelle Whitedove and Jackie Barrett. In the end, Whitedove edged Barrett out, winning $100,000. Since that time, Whitedove has written books and competed in other psychic challenges, including an international challenge based on America's Psychic Challenge.
The Show's Impact
The show only lasted one season. While it had little lasting impact in the United States, other countries have hosted versions of the game show.
Where to Watch America's Psychic Challenge
If you want to watch the show legally, it may be a bit of a challenge. Even Lifetime no longer has episodes available, and there are no DVDs. However, you can find portions of episodes available on YouTube or on some of the websites of the psychics who participated, although they aren't official, sanctioned videos, so exercise caution.
