Review: Long Island Medium

BY STACEY PASTERNAK

Theresa Caputo: loving wife, mother of two, and a medium who claims to communicate with the dead. Yes, you’ve read correctly. Caputo, who resides in Hicksville, New York, is the star of the TV show Long Island Medium. Hearing her talk about communications with the dead on Dr.Oz brought out my inner skeptic as well as intrigued me. Since the show was renewed for a third season, it airs Sundays at 9pm on TLC, I decided to check it out.

Many things struck me as odd while watching the premiere. For example, when Caputo is in the middle of her “medium” group sessions she makes very vague assumptions, since her subjects reveal information about their deceased beforehand. As a nonbeliever, I believe this is her way of getting her foot in the door because it allows her to talk more about the dearly departed in question. 

Long Island Medium also makes a feeble attempt at intertwining Theresa Caputo’s “job” with her family life, in an attempt to make the show relatable. In this episode, Theresa’s son Larry is coming home from college to live with her and her husband and unsurprisingly drama ensues.

Of course, being a reality TV show, I can’t classify the stars as “real” actors, but Caputo and her family’s acting performances do make the show entertaining. No matter how hard it is for me to call her out as a fake, it is even harder for me to believe her act. In an environment like a TV show, there’s so much room for situations to be faked. The audience has no way of knowing whether or not the crew has informed Caputo of her client’s past histories and experiences with the dead.

This show is best watched by a gullible audience because it’s definitely less believable than other TV shows in its genre, such as Keeping up with the Kardashians. Long Island Medium, a hit or a miss? It does have some fun qualities to it, but the bad parts outweigh the good ones. Thus, this is a mildly entertaining show that gives nothing to those who don’t believe in the afterlife.