DAVID HENRIE, JANICE LEANN BROWN, SELENA GOMEZ
Disney/Eric McCandless
Reboots can be risky, but Wizards Beyond Waverly Place found its magic. Disney brought fans back into the spellbinding world of Wizards last year, introducing a new generation to the Russo family. The revival had big shoes to fill, following the success of the original show, which ran from 2007 to 2012 on Disney Channel.
In 2024, the Season 1 premiere accumulated 3.2 million views in the first 12 days of streaming on Disney+, making it Disney Channel‘s most-watched series premiere on Disney+, Deadline reported. So it was no surprise when the series was renewed for a second season in March 2025.
“How do you satisfy original fans, but at the same time invite new fans to watch? Our goal was to give a big, warm hug to the original fan, but at the same time, invite in a new generation,” David Henrie, who reprises his role as Justin Russo and serves as an executive producer for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, told me in an interview.
“The show was overwhelmingly positively received by nine out of 10 people. And for any reboot, that’s unbelievable,” Henrie, a father of three, said. “I knew we were good, but I didn’t know it would be that good. So I think now we have a confidence behind us. The question mark is gone.”
MIMI GIANOPULOS, JANICE LEANN BROWN, DAVID HENRIE, MAX MATENKO, ALKAIO THIELE
Disney/Eric McCandless
In Beyond Waverly Place, Justin lives in Staten Island and has a wife and kids of his own. While he was initially committed to living a normal, mortal life, his plans changed when Justin’s sister Alex (Selena Gomez) brought Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown), an extremely powerful young wizard, to his home seeking help and mentorship. (At the time, it was unclear what Billie’s relationship to Alex was — and without revealing spoilers, the Season 2 finale finally sheds light on their connection in a shocking way.)
The Season 1 finale ends with the Roman and Milo discovering they’re wizards, too, and now Justin has to train his sons and Billie for the Family Wizard Competition, which will determine who gets to keep their powers. “As the stakes rise inside and outside the family, a mysterious new threat emerges, one that could unravel the Russos forever,” the synopsis for Season 2 reads.
The second installment is filled with guest stars, featuring returning characters from Wizards of Waverly Place, such as Bill Chott as Hershel Laritate and Sean Whalen as Mantooth. The cameos won’t end there — Henrie and LeAnn Brown said they’re excited to welcome anyone who wants to return, including Jennifer Stone as Harper and Jake T. Austin as Max Russo and Gregg Sulkin as Mason the Werewolf.
“Anyone who’s willing to come back, we will take them, and we would love to have them back,” Henrie said, adding that he recently had dinner with Sulkin. “We were talking about this, and he’s definitely game to come back,” he teased. “So I know for sure one is game to come back.”
All 10 episodes of Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place are now streaming on Disney+. In honor of the next chapter, I asked Henrie and LeAnn Brown all about Season 2, including the new challenges facing the Russos. Read on for excerpts from our conversation.
DAVID HENRIE, JANICE LEANN BROWN
Disney/Eric McCandless
Monica Mercuri: Season 1 had the challenge of introducing new characters and winning over longtime Wizards of Waverly Place fans. Did filming Season 2 feel easier now that audiences have embraced both the reboot and its new cast?
David Henrie: It’s a great question. It’s a tough challenge, right? How do you satisfy original fans, but at the same time invite new fans to watch? Our goal was to give a big, warm hug to the original fan, but at the same time, invite in a new generation. Invite the original generation to pass on the baton, but also still enjoy the show. Tough goal, right?
So the first season was really nerve-wracking. It was really hard, but we gave it our best. We made decisions, tough choices, and we charged. Thank God it worked out. The show was overwhelmingly positively received by nine out of 10 people. And for any reboot, that’s unbelievable. I knew we were good, but I didn’t know it would be that good. So I think now we have a confidence behind us. The question mark is gone.
Mercuri: In Season 2, you have Selena Gomez returning as a guest star, along with familiar faces like Mr. Laritate and Mantooth. If you could bring back any other original Wizards character who hasn’t appeared on the show yet, which one would it be and why?
Janice LeAnn Brown: I think it’d be pretty cool if Mason could come back. I’d like to see where him and Alex are right now. That’d be pretty cool. Also, I want to see him in the werewolf outfit. That’d be really cool to see.
Henrie: I’d love for Jen Stone to come back. I’d love for Max (JT Austin) to come back. Anyone who’s willing to come back, we will take them, and we would love to have them back. So that would be a dream come true, especially next season. I just had dinner with Greg (Gregg Sulkin) last night, and we were talking about this, and he’s definitely game to come back. So I know for sure one is game to come back.
Mercuri: If you could design your own new spell for the show or for your everyday life, what would it be?
Brown: I’d make a spell that lets me have any pet in the world that I’d like without having to worry about legal problems, like a ferret, because they’re legal in California, but still, probably a pet spell.
Henrie: For everyday usage, I would have a sleep spell to have perfect sleep, and then I would have an emotion spell to kick in so your emotions are perfectly under control.
DAVID HENRIE
Disney/Eric McCandless
Mercuri: Season two will see Justin getting the kids ready for the Family Wizard Competition. What are some of the challenges Justin will face in his new role — and is he more like his Dad than he thinks?
Henrie: I think all of us are more like our father than we think. And as you get older, you like that. When you’re younger, you don’t like that. But as you get older, you’re like, “Yeah, I like that. I like my dad. He did a lot, he sacrificed, he suffered, he did things for me that I’m now doing for my children.” So I think he sympathizes and understands his dad more. Now, for sure, he’s definitely faced with challenges. I mean, he’s now got three people to train and not one. He’s fully embraced his wizard past. He’s no longer running from it. So there’s a fulfillment and a joy there, but it also comes with its own set of problems, baggage and drama.
And this season, we really go there, we really tackle some tougher subjects, and we believe kids can handle it, right? So we push the envelope on what a kid’s sitcom is capable of. And there are moments you’re going to cry, there are moments you’re going to laugh, emotions you’re going to have, some emotions you’re going to experience that you never thought you would on a kids’ show. And there are easter eggs that are going to connect the dots for the original fans, that their jaw is going to be on the floor, trust me.
Mercuri: In Season 1, Billie was figuring out where she fit in. Now that she’s officially part of the family, how does she come into her own as both a Russo and a wizard in Season 2?
LeAnn Brown: Oh, there are definitely multiple ways that she’s becoming her own, I think, especially now that she’s more like verbally hearing that “you’re our sister,” or “you belong in the Russos,” or stuff like that. That really hits her deep, and it’s making her feel a lot more confident living with Russos, and obviously, there are still some challenges.
She’s still very competitive, and she wants to win and everything, but she learns throughout the journey that’s not really all of what it’s about. It’s not always about winning all the time and letting that get ahead of you as well. Like, I feel like when you let that get ahead of you, you know, problems happen, and you could conjure a monster or something. But I think the Russos are really helping her see things in a more positive light.
All episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Season 2 are now streaming on Disney+. Watch the official trailer below.