TLC's Long Island Medium has been airing new episodes of its third season this fall, and those viewers who love watching Theresa Caputo connect the living with their deceased loved ones will be happy to know that the series has been renewed for a fourth season, and it's a big one.
TLC made the announcement today that not only have they renewed Long Island Medium for Season 4, but they've given the show an order for 30 half-hour episodes, with the aim to start Season 4 next March (2013).
Long Island Medium is an unscripted series that follows Theresa Caputo, a woman with the ability to communicate with the dead. The show follows her as she sits with people for scheduled readings to try to communicate with their deceased family and friends. There are also segments that feature her interactions with her family and her seemingly random encounters with "spirit" while out shopping, dining or visiting friends.
The show has been building its audience over the course of the first three seasons, averaging 2.9 million viewers in Season 3. And it was parodied on Saturday Night Live this season in a clip that captures some of the humor of the show and pokes fun at Caputo and Long Island at the same time.
The thing I like most about Long Island Medium - besides the mixture of skepticism and wanting to believe Caputo is the real deal - is that she focuses on the positive. We never see her telling her customers or the random people she encounters that their deceased friend or family member has a bone to pick with them. But what cracks me up about the show is part of what the SNL sketch parodies. Caputo seems to have no qualms about approaching strangers to question them on their personal losses and relay messages from their loved ones. Now, if she's really being frequently nudged by spirits, I suppose approaching strangers wouldn't seem like a big deal by comparison. That said, I often wonder if she's ever encountered anyone who didn't like having their grief rekindled by a random stranger in the grocery store. I suppose, that's where Captuto's friendly personality comes in handy.
The finale for Season 3 is scheduled to air this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on TLC. Here's a clip from the episode.
