The “Wizards of Waverly Place” spin-off, titled “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” was released Oct. 29, 2024. The creator of the original show, Todd J. Greenwald, came back to create a new show in the same wizarding universe, featuring both new and old characters.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” follows Justin Russo and his family, who live a magic and wizard-free life. However, Alex Russo introduces Justin and his family, who are unaware of magic, to a rebellious and powerful teenage wizard-in-training, Billie.
Justin Russo and Alex Russo are played by David Henrie and Selena Gomez, respectively. They are reprising their roles from the original show. Billie is played by a new actress to the “Wizards of Waverly Place” universe, Janice LeAnn Brown.
The theme song for the original “Wizards of Waverly Place” is reprised in the spin-off, rerecorded by Janice LeAnn Brown, with backing vocals from Selena Gomez, who sang the original theme.
I watched the first episode of the spin-off and compared it to the magic of the original show. Fair warning, there will be spoilers for the first episode of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.”
The first episode of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is titled “Everything is Not What it Seems,” after the original show’s iconic theme song. In the episode, Justin Russo’s family is introduced as a non-magic, mortal family living in Staten Island. Justin has quit teaching magic after being fired from his job as the headmaster at Wiz-Tec and has not told his family about his history as a wizard and monster hunter, both storylines Justin had in the original show.
Alex Russo, his sister who is the family wizard, shows up to his house with a young wizard-in-training, Billie. Alex tries to convince Justin to become Billie’s wizarding teacher, while Billie causes trouble for Justin’s kids, Milo and Roman, by summoning a monster in the boys’ closet.
Overall, I don’t think the first episode was awful, but it didn’t have the spark of the original. Maybe, as the episodes progress, the show will find its footing, but from the pilot of the spin-off alone, the characters felt static and detached.
All of the characters lacked the lovability that the original show was able to convey from the first episode. Even the returning characters, like Alex and Justin, felt poorly executed. It felt like they were trying to keep their original personalities, but forgot how exactly to write those personalities. Justin felt like an overexaggerated version of his original self.
The acting wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great. Selena Gomez didn’t have that Alex Russo spark that was so captivating and her line delivery was monotone and boring. The comedic timing was off, especially with the child actors.
I do feel that the new actress, Brown, did a very good job making her character, Billie, feel like an actual teenager. Billie had an attitude and a strong personality, which at some points in the episode made her unlikeable and come across as selfish, but made her feel real and flawed like a lost child would be.
The conclusion of the episode shows Justin and Billie having a heartfelt moment, where Justin agrees to be Billie’s teacher and Billie finally finds a teacher who believes in her and is willing to teach and support her, something she had lacked before. It is a heartfelt moment and gives the first episode a warm and fuzzy moment to linger on.
The episode ends with the set up for the season. The world is ending and Billie is the only one who can save it. It is enough of a plot twist and cliff hanger to make me consider watching the rest of season.
I didn’t necessarily think the spin-off was anywhere near on-par with even the first episode of the original, which is still funny upon rewatch.
Overall, I hope the characters will grow into more dynamic characters and the writing and acting will improve as the show finds its footing. I am curious to know how the story will play out, but I am not interested in the characters at all, which makes it difficult to find the inspiration to continue watching.
I encourage all fans of the original show to give the spin-off a watch and make opinions for yourself, as I was never a die-hard fan of the original “Wizards of Waverly Place.” It has some enjoyable moments, but I think the bad attempt at humor, mixed with the lack of personality featured in the original, makes it difficult to decide if it is really worth the watch for me personally.
