Wizards of Waverly Place is an American fantasy teen sitcom which ran from October 12, 2007
to January 6, 2012 on Disney Channel.
The series was created by Todd J. Greenwald, and stars Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake
T. Austin as three wizard siblings with magical abilities competing to win sole custody of
the family powers.
Further main cast includes Jennifer Stone, María Canals Barrera, and David DeLuise.
The series won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009.
A film adaptation of the series, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, premiered as a Disney
Channel Original Movie on August 28, 2009.
The film adaptation won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
earning the series its second consecutive Emmy.
The farewell season won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards
bringing the franchise's total to three Emmy awards.
Wizards of Waverly Place ended as the longest-running Disney Channel Original Series with 106 episodes
over four seasons.
Its series finale averaged nearly 10 million viewers, which made that episode the most-watched
series finale in Disney Channel's history.
On March 15, 2013, The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex premiered as a one-hour television
special.
Premise Wizards of Waverly Place chronicles the adventures
of the Russo Family.
The Russos live on Waverly Place in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, above a sandwich shop which
they own and run.
The family consists of siblings Alex, Justin, and Max.
The three teenagers are wizards and live with their Italian father, Jerry, a former family
wizard, and their mortal Mexican mother, Theresa.
When the Russo siblings complete their wizard training, they are to participate in a competition
to decide who will become the Family Wizard of their generation, while the others lose
their powers and become mortals.
Because of this, Jerry tries to teach his children to not become dependent on magic.
Since one of them gets to keep their powers, though, Jerry also gives his children wizard
lessons.
The storage room of the Russo family's sub station is a wizard's lair.
In the lair is a Portal which allows them to visit the wizard world, and other creatures
to visit them.
The headmaster of the wizard council, Professor Crumbs, regularly pays visits to the Russo
home.
The Russo siblings attend Tribeca Preparatory School and constantly encounter their Old
West style principal, Mr. Laritate.
Because they live in the mortal world, the Russos are required to keep the existence
of wizardry a secret.
Even so, Alex's best friend, Harper Finkle, discovers the secret in Season 2's episode
"Harper Knows".
Justin's best friend, Zeke Beakerman, also finds out in Season 4's episode "Zeke Finds
Out", along with Alex's boyfriend, Mason Greyback, who is a werewolf.
Cast
Main Recurring
Production This series was created and as produced by
Todd J. Greenwald, who began developing the show after working as a writer and consulting
producer during the first season of Hannah Montana.
The show is produced by It's a Laugh Productions and Disney Channel Original Productions.
The theme song, "Everything Is Not What It Seems", written by John Adair and Steve Hampton,
is of techno-pop style and is performed by Selena Gomez.
The series was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California.
Opening sequence For the first three seasons the show used
the same title sequence which is set to Selena Gomez's rendition of "Everything Is Not What
It Seems"; it shows Alex, Justin, Max and Harper engaging in magical antics while preparing
for school in the morning.
The fourth season began using a slightly altered version of the song, and a different sequence
involving the cast, who all appear in Times Square at the end of the sequence with Alex
waving her wand.
Reception The show debuted on Disney Channel on October
12, 2007 after the premiere of Twitches Too, gathering 5.9 million viewers.
In January 2010, "Wizards vs. Werewolves" one-hour special episode became the series'
most-watched episode with 6.2 million viewers, surpassing the 6 million viewers of "Paint
By Committee" episode The series' most watched episode, including crossovers, was "Cast-Away"
episode, which was included in the special trilogy of crossover episodes between three
Disney Channel original sitcoms, Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana.
The broadcast was watched by 10.6 million viewers.
In 2009, the series was the top scripted telecast for teens between the age of 9–14 and second
in kids 6–11, which was only slightly behind The Suite Life on Deck
Series overview
Crossover with The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana
The episode "Cast-Away" is the first part of a three-way crossover that continues on
The Suite Life on Deck and concludes on Hannah Montana.
Justin takes Alex and Max on a cruise to Hawaii aboard the SS Tipton when he wins tickets.
He pretends to be a doctor to impress London Tipton while Alex uses magic to bring Harper
on the ship.
During the cruise, Alex pulls a prank on Justin that turns him blue while Hannah Montana boards
the ship to attend a concert in Hawaii, leading Cody to try and get tickets for himself and
Bailey.
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie
The Disney Channel Original Movie, based on the series, premiered on August 28, 2009 on
Disney Channel.
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie was filmed in Puerto Rico in the caribe Hilton hotel,
Los Angeles, and New York City from February 16 to March 27, 2009.
The movie received 11.4 million viewers on its premiere, making it the second-most-viewed
DCOM premiere in the US after High School Musical 2.
It was the 7th most watched basic cable telecast in 2009.
It won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 for "Outstanding Children's Program".
Series finale On Friday, January 6, 2012, Wizards of Waverly
Place aired its one-hour series finale, "Who Will Be The Family Wizard?", which averaged
nearly 10 million viewers to up to 11.3 million.
Although it was not the series' most-watched special, being behind Wizards of Waverly Place:
The Movie, and Cast Away, it was the most-watched finale for a Disney Channel Original Series.
Excluding the crossover programming special, it was the franchise's most-watched episode.
The closer also set series best among kids 6–11 and teens 9–14.
It also obtained a solid 1.9 rating with adults 18–49.
Notably, the finale is the current TV season's most-watched cable telecast among scripted
programs.
The show ended with Alex becoming the family wizard, Justin being declared new Headmaster
of WizTech, and Max getting to run the sub shop.
The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex
On September 27, 2012, Disney Channel announced that Wizards of Waverly Place would return
for an hour-long special, that began production on October 22, 2012, and ended production
on November 10, 2012, for a premiere telecast on the cable channel in early 2013.
The special, executive-produced by Selena Gomez, alongside series executive producers
Vince Cheung and Ben Montanio, centers on the Russos', Mason, and Harper's visit to
Italy to meet long-lost relatives from Jerry's side of the family.
In an attempt to prove to her family that she's not merely a carefree wizard, Alex inadvertently
casts a spell that creates two versions of her with differing personalities: an evil
version of Alex that ends up involved in another wizard's plan for world domination, and a
good version who upon discovering the wizard's plan, tries to find a way to save her family
and mankind, leading to a literal battle between good and evil atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The film is titled The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex and premiered on March 15, 2013.
Merchandise Soundtrack
The soundtrack album for the hit Disney Channel Original Series of the same name.
The album was released as a physical CD, enhanced CD and digital on August 4, 2009, under Walt
Disney Records.
The album includes songs from and inspired by the TV series and Wizards of Waverly Place:
The Movie.
In response to the soundtrack, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic recognized Wizards for
its "teen revamps of boomer classics that parents can enjoy too".
He also stated that the album is "agreeable" and that Selena Gomez "inevitably stands out
from the pack".
However, Erlewine said: "the dang-awful version of America's "You Can Do Magic" by Drew Seeley
is sunk by its hyper-claustrophobic rhythms, the biggest rearrangement of a tune here and
easily the worst cut."
Video game
A video game based on the series was released in August 2009.
DVD releases Compilations
Season releases The show's complete first season was released
on September 10, 2009 in Germany, on October 1, 2009 in Spain, on March 3, 2010 in France
and on March 12, 2010 in Poland.
Awards and nominations Broadcast
The show airs worldwide on Disney Channel.
It premiered on October 12, 2007 in Pakistan.
In Australia it premiered on October 19, 2007 and it also airs on Seven Network starting
October 4, 2008.
It premiered on the same date in New Zealand and first aired on FOUR on February 4, 2009.
It premiered on October 26, 2007 on Family in Canada.
In the United Kingdom it started airing on November 4, 2007 and it also airs on Channel
5.
It premiered on November 3, 2007 in Ireland and also airs on TRTÉ.
It premiered in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines on March 9, 2008.
It first aired in India and Bangladesh on May 5, 2008.
In South Africa it premiered on June 22, 2008.
References
External links
Official website Wizards of Waverly Place at the Internet Movie
Database Wizards of Waverly Place at TV.com
Wizards of Waverly Place at TV Guide