SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Directed and Created by: Sean King O’Grady

Executive Producers: Mandy Teefey, Selena Gomez, Jonathon Glucksman, Molly Borman, Jesse Ford, David Tuohy, Sean King O’Grady

Featuring: Writer and Psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold, Writer and Philosopher Ian Gold, PhD, Filmmaker Sean King O’Grady, Activist Etienne Brisson, ChatGPT Delusion

Experiencing Interviewees: Ryan Turman (and his wife Lacey Turman) and Allan Brooks, AI Researcher and Stanford Professor Nick Haber, AI Ethicist Nate Sharadin, Co-Chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Council on AI Dr. Amy Levy.

ABOUT SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Suspicious Minds is a docuseries that investigates the disturbing rise of artificial intelligence as a trigger for delusional thinking.

Through powerful firsthand accounts and in-depth interviews with leading experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, and AI ethics, the series unpacks a growing psychological phenomenon: individuals developing complex, often life-altering delusions rooted in AI technologies. From chatbots to surveillance fears, we examine how emerging technologies are reshaping the landscape of paranoia and how these modern delusions echo, amplify, and challenge our historical understanding of the human mind.

Led by psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold and philosopher Ian Gold, PhD, who together first described the Truman Show Delusion (people believing they were on a reality TV show like Jim Carrey’s character in The Truman Show) and authored the groundbreaking book Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness (The Truman Show Delusion and Other Strange Beliefs), the series presents an urgent vision of just how dramatically culture can influence our minds. 

With a spirit of empathy, curiosity, and respect, we tell real patients’ riveting stories while plunging viewers deep into their mental states, as their reality becomes surreal, and then follow their journey toward managing their illness. We explore the future of treatment and prevention, and through these stories create larger conversations to help destigmatize this phenomenon.

Interviews with the Golds and other top experts including psychologists, neuroscientists, ethicists, AI researchers, and cultural critics help viewers understand the science and culture behind the madness as we follow the trajectory from the Y2K-era near-future fiction of The Truman Show to tomorrow’s hyperreal, AI-dominated technological and cultural landscape — a world that would be almost unrecognizable to people living 100, 50, or even 10 years ago.

The line between mental wellness and mental illness is incredibly thin, and we never know when something will trigger us, or someone we love. The goal of this series is to create awareness of these new and omnipresent digital triggers, and explore the psychological minefield we find ourselves unexpectedly living in today.

ABOUT WONDERMIND

Wondermind is a mental fitness ecosystem co-founded by Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez with a mission to make mental fitness as integral and routine as physical fitness. Through inclusive, expert-backed storytelling and practical, science-driven tools, Wondermind delivers accessible, everyday practices that support emotional well-being. Wondermind’s mission is to democratize and destigmatize mental health—offering affordable, approachable resources that meet people wherever they are. Developed in collaboration with a diverse committee of licensed mental health professionals, Wondermind’s offerings are designed to resonate across all ages, races, and backgrounds. From compelling narratives to actionable tools, Wondermind is creating a trusted space where mental fitness is prioritized without judgment and with the belief that every mind matters.

ABOUT AGORIC MEDIA

Agoric Media is a direct to audience storytelling studio focused on modern paranoia, moral complexity, and the strange shape of the rapidly unfolding future. Our shows explore technology, belief, and survival – told with edge, intellect, and cinematic craft. Agoric Media is run by entrepreneur Molly Borman, producer Jesse Ford, and filmmaker Sean King O’Grady.

ABOUT DR. JOEL GOLD

Joel Gold, MD is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine following a decade of being Clinical Associate Professor at the NYU School of Medicine. He is also on faculty at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. Dr. Gold worked at Bellevue Hospital for 14 years where he became Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services and then Director of its outpatient department.

His work has been profiled in The New Yorker, The New York Times, on This American Life, and elsewhere. Dr. Gold has published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Psychiatry. His first book, Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness was published in 2014. He is the consulting psychiatrist to the NHL Players’ Association and became Program Administrator or the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Dr. Gold has a private practice in Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn.

ABOUT IAN GOLD, PhD

Ian Gold, PhD, is a professor of Philosophy & Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. He completed a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton University and did postdoctoral training at the Australian National University in Canberra. From 2000 to 2006 he was on the faculty of the School of Philosophy & Bioethics at Monash University in Melbourne and returned to McGill in 2006. His research focuses on the theory of delusion in psychiatric and neurological illness and on reductionism in psychiatry and neuroscience. He is the author of research articles in such journals as Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Mind and Language, Consciousness and Cognition, The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, World Psychiatry, Transcultural Psychiatry, Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, and Cognitive Neuropsychiatry.

ABOUT SEAN KING O’GRADY

Sean King O’Grady is an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans narrative features, documentaries, and high-profile branded content. His films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Telluride, Berlin, Venice, TIFF, SXSW, Sitges, Fantastic Fest, and dozens of other major festivals worldwide. Sean’s latest feature directorial effort, the Hulu Originals sci-fi thriller THE MILL, starring Lil’ Rel Howery, premiered at #1 on the platform in October 2023. His narrative debut, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING, released theatrically by IFC Midnight, garnered critical acclaim and is now streaming on Hulu. His documentary work includes REVOLUTION: GMC HUMMER EV (History/Hulu) and OUR AMERICAN FAMILY (AMC+), the latter co-directed with Hallee Adelman. As a producer, Sean has been behind a number of acclaimed films, including Lil Rel Howery’s directorial debut HAUNTED HEIST which premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2025, Brandon Espy’s 2024 Hulu Original hit MR. CROCKET, Steve Buscemi’s THE LISTENER starring Tessa Thompson, James Morosini’s SXSW-winning I LOVE MY DAD, Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Sundance breakout DINNER IN AMERICA, and Natalia Almada’s Sundance-winning USERS. His previous credits include THE ASSISTANT, LIVING UNDOCUMENTED, LAND GRAB, BIG SUR, and IN A WORLD….Beyond film, Sean has directed high-impact branded content for LinkedIn, Amazon, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Carhartt, Virgin Atlantic, and other global brands.