Sometimes, everything is not what it seems. For fans of the classic Disney Channel show “Wizards of Waverly Place,” talks of a revival series in production meant many questions about where the story could be headed. “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” premiered on Tuesday, Oct. 29, with a new plot but the same magic as the original.
The original storyline followed the Russos: Alex (Selena Gomez), a rebellious spirit, Justin (David Henrie), the analytical older brother and Max (Jake T. Austin), the comic relief. They’re a secret family of Wizards-in-training who are balancing schoolwork and spell-books in New York. Their father, Jerry (David DeLuise) acts as the group’s magic teacher. Over the course of the show, the siblings get themselves into a variety of memorable magical scenarios, having to work together as a family to resolve them. The original was a successful program for the Disney Channel, spanning four seasons and premiering two television movies.
The new show appears to show that Justin, who was promoted to headmaster at the WizTech School in the original series’ conclusion, has given up the life of magic to raise his family as a mortal. His wife Giada (Mimi Gianopulos) works as an investigative reporter, and he has two sons, Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko). The pilot episode follows Justin’s 34th birthday with a surprise visit from Alex. Justin has chosen to keep his past a secret from his family, so Alex has to play along as a championship dog-walker; in reality, she’s high-ranking in the wizard world with a special request for Justin: to return to teaching.
Janice LeAnn Brown stars as Billie, a young but powerful wizard that, according to Alex, was given up on by all of her past teachers. A recurring segment on the original series saw Justin teaching a class of delinquent wizard students. In a run-in with Roman and Milo, Billie accidentally releases loose into the house a “floogie”—a Gremlins-esque creature portrayed in voice by the multifaceted Dee Bradley Baker—without knowing the spell to contain it. The situation spirals until Justin convinces Billie he believes she can banish the monster, reigniting his love for teaching magic and showing Billie that she is not a wizard failure.
The rest of the series shows the kids going to mortal school with friend Winter (Taylor Cora) and getting into more magical hijinks. Episode teasers and clips have already been released for the rest of the season, including a scene that shows part of the kids “getting erased” via (obvious) chroma key. A classic trope, but it’s cute.
The new series hits many of the same notes as the original, but some of the moments feel forced. It’s important to look at it through the lens of it still being geared to children, in contrast to similar revivals for “iCarly” and “Zoey 101,” which are more adult-leaning. The new Wizards show reminds me of another Disney reboot, “Raven’s Home” — the sequel to mid-2000s favorite “That’s So Raven.” It’s no surprise; Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas were the screenwriters who developed both revival series.
Original series cast members David DeLuise and Maria Canals-Barrera, who played the Russo kids’ parents, will appear in the revival as guest stars, as will Jake T. Austin. It’s unconfirmed if original series players Jennifer Stone, who played Alex’s best friend Harper Finkle, and Gregg Sulkin, who played Alex’s werewolf boyfriend Mason, will return; Stone and DeLuise host a “rewatch podcast” show online called Wizards of Waverly Pod where they’ve discussed previous episodes and interview cast and crew members.
If you grew up watching the original show or want to watch a family-friendly comedy, “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” reminds us to be careful what we wish for. The reboot is produced by It’s a Laugh Productions and Potato Monkey Productions and you can watch it every Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the Disney Channel (Huskyvision channel 28). You can also catch the new series and the original on-demand with a Disney Plus subscription.
Rating: 4/5 Sub Sandwiches