Tyler Henry Contacts the Afterlife (Including Lots of Celebrities!) in E!’s ‘Hollywood Medium’

They say you can sleep when you’re dead. Well, don’t count on it—not while Tyler Henry’s around! The 20-year-old psychic is back with his E! reality series Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry, where he busily connects celebrities with the dearly departed. But not all of the famous folks making an appearance during Season 2 are alive. Henry explains.

In the season premiere, Melissa Joan Hart promptly announces she’s a “good Christian girl” and a skeptic and notes that the Bible warns against mediums. Why would someone agree to a reading if they think you’re a sham or, worse yet, unholy?
Some people need things they don’t know they need. Besides, being a skeptic means you’re wary and undecided but willing to consider. Being a cynic means your mind is closed. Some of the most profound readings I’ve ever done have been with skeptics. By the way, the word “medium” had a different historical context back in the day. People in the Bible who were referred to as “mediums” worshipped other gods. I believe in God and believe my gift comes from God. I always make it a point to acknowledge that.

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You do a session with Kris Jenner (airing August 17, pictured above) and bring through her late husband, Robert Kardashian. Corey Haim and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy pop up in later episodes. What’s with the parade of famous dead peeps?
It might be surprising to the audience to have well-known people come through, but it’s not that way to me or to the people getting a reading. You may be famous, but you’re still somebody’s friend, somebody’s parent, somebody’s loved one.

In that same episode, Jennifer Esposito’s golden retriever Frankie comes through. How often do dead pets turn up in a reading?
A lot, actually, and often with a deeper kind of love for the living than many dead humans have. Here’s why: A pet is just a part of a human being’s life, but a human being is a pet’s entire life. That connection is strong!

Even though you believe in an afterlife, you don’t use the term “heaven.” Why not?
I don’t get information about what it’s like on the other side, and I think that’s because it’s beyond human comprehension. People talk about heaven and think of clouds and golden gates, as if it’s a place. I believe the afterlife is a continuation of consciousness.

You rarely recognize the celebs you read, which didn’t go over well with Boy George last season. He was not happy.
I grew up an only child on a ranch in the middle of nowhere and liked being alone. I liked hiking, writing, reading and, unlike a lot of kids, never needed the escape of TV and pop culture. [Laughs] But hey, this season I recognized Moby, so I’m not totally oblivious.

Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry, Season premiere, Wednesday, August 10, 8/7c, E!