Had we bothered to ask, Xiao Zhen might have predicted, “I’ll be back …” to illuminate a second series of Taiwanese hit The Teenage Psychic (HBO and HBO Go; new instalments at 9pm on Sundays).

Xiao (former pop starlet Yao Yao, real name Kuo Shu-yao) is the titular star, a medium who holds court at Taipei’s Ji De Temple. This she does reluctantly, however: she feels exploited by the temple’s popular guardian, Teacher Kim (Chen Mu-yi), who runs the place like a business and touts her as its big attraction. In her other life, meanwhile, she is a 17-year-old secondary-school pupil struggling through the usual teen turbulence of angst and melancholy.

And as the second series opens, the unfortunate Xiao has to cope with hefty doses of both, having lost the love of her life to a road accident in season one. In fact, looking down in the mouth seems to be an occupational hazard for the Holy Maiden, as she is “professionally” known, who’s obliged to spend her dial-up time to the spirit world conversing with the departed. Being asked for proof of extramarital affairs or the week’s lottery numbers doesn’t amuse her either.

With its archaic rituals, lanterns, painted gods and incense you can almost smell through the screen, Ji De Temple is redolent of a slower-paced age, a traditional Taiwan of no little pageantry and out-of-control colour. But now, puncturing the past’s bubble, here comes Sheng Yu, the temple of tomorrow, an antiseptic establishment with more Ikea than icons and a “retail section” that’s the first stop on the guided tour. While Kim flirts half-heartedly with the new world by fiddling with a Ji De Temple app that doesn’t work, his rival – a man he never expected to come sneaking up on his blind side – is poaching devotees. The new teacher in town is efficiently cleansing the faithful (who have ditched their old counsellor) of their “relationship problems and traffic dangers” by burning bits of paper, dispensing wisdom from within taupe-toned togs.

The Teenage Psychic star Yao Yao on HBO hit Taiwanese series ahead of second season

The increasingly disillusioned Holy Maiden has eight episodes in which to channel supernatural advice to save the day for Kim. Or will she be too distracted by efforts to shake off the pest claiming to be the reincarnation of her boyfriend? “Welcome to the ludicrous and bizarre world that is my life,” she says with a sigh, looking and sounding old beyond her years. In demand by the living and the dead, the Holy Maiden’s psychic insight is the gift that keeps on giving her away.

Billy Bob Thornton returns as down-and-out lawyer in Goliath

Billy Bob Thornton doesn’t so much radiate his unique brand of star quality as let it modestly seep out, like the dim light from those vintage industrial bulbs populating every en vogue bar.