Sanaa Lathan to Star in and Produce Series About Popular Psychic

Miss Cleo is making a comeback. The popular television psychic from the 90s will have her story told in the form of a series starring and executive produced by Love & Basketball actress, Sanaa Lathan, as reported by Deadline. The report notes that Legendary Entertainment is developing the project, currently titled Miss Cleo, with former Sony Pictures Television head of drama Sharon Hall also as an executive producer through her Mom de Guerre Productions.

Miss Cleo, also known as Youree Dell Harris, was later learned to have been an actress who portrayed a spokeswoman for a psychic pay-per-call-minute service called Psychic Readers Networks. She starred in hundreds of commercials between 1997 and 2003. Her famous tagline was “Call me now!” and she spoke with a Carribean accent.

The series is described as “a darkly comedic drama inspired by the true-life story of the star of the psychic pay-per-call service.” It will also explore the company’s downfall. Lathan will star as Miss Cleo.

In 2022, MAX produced a documentary on her titled Call Me Now. The documentary followed the rise and fall of Harris, who before her claim to fame as a fake psychic was part of several theater troupes throughout the U.S. Friends and family who knew her before and after the commercials shared their experiences with her. According to those interviewed, she didn’t make much of a profit from the commercials, despite the company earning millions. She was reportedly broke and couch-surfing for many years, eventually settling in Florida.

In 2002, the Federal Trade Commission charged Psychic Readers Networks owners with deceptive advertising, billing, and collection practices – otherwise fraud. Though Harris was not indicted, she was ridiculed by the public. The people behind the company agreed to settle by erasing $500M in debt from its victims and paying a $5M fine.

Harris voiced a character in the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City computer game. She died of cancer in 2016.