Ken Estin, the two-time Emmy winner whose television credits include running “Taxi” and “Cheers,” is leading “Psychic Predators,” a paranormal dramatic comedy featuring mentalist Banachek as himself. Organic Media Group unveiled the project at Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei and is also taking it to the American Film Market.
Estin will run the series with creator and executive producer Steve Chicorel. He joined after reading Chicorel’s pilot script, “The Voice of God,” and will supervise writing for the remaining season if the project receives a commission. His credits also include “The Tracey Ullman Show.”
The story follows a celebrated mentalist who makes a living fooling audiences while acknowledging that his performances depend on tricks. A determined television producer persuades executives at TRN, The Reality Network, to support a program exposing fraudulent psychics. Banachek then works undercover with a magician adept at disguise and a tough female FBI agent.
Producers describe the concept as combining elements of “Mission Impossible” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” within investigative television. Alongside their efforts to uncover fraud, the characters contend with executive demands, competing egos and the tension between revealing wrongdoing and delivering a successful unscripted program.
Chicorel said Estin’s appeal extended beyond his comedy credentials to his ability to convey vulnerability, heartbreak and humanity. That combination, he said, would help the series entertain while addressing difficult truths. Estin similarly emphasized emotional honesty in comedy and the value of humor in serious drama, citing “MAS*H” as an example of comedy helping audiences engage with painful subjects.
Banachek’s experiences provide material for the series. Mentored by the late skeptic James “The Amazing” Randi, he participated in Project Alpha, a sting targeting paranormal research that began when he was 18. Posing as a psychic, Banachek employed conjuring techniques that exposed flaws in experimental controls. Randi demonstrated to the researchers how the apparently paranormal results could be produced through deception.
Banachek also assisted Randi in exposing televangelist Peter Popoff, who received purported messages from God through a hidden earpiece. The pilot depicts a similar deception. Planned episodes address pseudoscience, fraudulent medical treatments, costly fortune-telling schemes, manipulated paranormal events and fabricated alien encounters, with subjects ranging from psychic fraudsters and exploitative spiritual leaders to doomsday cults.
Chicorel and Banachek intend to involve other leading magicians familiar with the methods behind seemingly impossible acts. They envision performers following the example of Houdini, who exposed mediums exploiting bereaved people while pursuing genuine contact with the dead. Both the drama and its fictional reality program adopt an approach of considering extraordinary claims while requiring strong evidence.
Organic Media Group operates from Los Angeles, Taipei and Brisbane. Chicorel co-founded the company with Kelly Mi Li, a star and executive producer of Netflix’s “Bling Empire” who also hosts and executive produces “Stir the Pot.” Their scripted work includes “Cypher,” the first original drama series produced exclusively for Roku.
