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2024 FANON WIKI AWARD WINNER! |
Wizards of West Valley is an American comedy television series serving as a sequel to Wizards of Waverly Place. The series centers on Olivia, a young wizard who must embrace the mortal world with the help of her new mentor, Justin Russo. The series stars Malia Baker, Brady Noon, Alkaio Thiele, Millie Liao, and David Henrie in lead roles. The series also stars Selena Gomez and Jane Lynch in supporting roles.
The series premiered on August 30, 2022 on Disney Channel, and was renewed for a second season on November 2, 2022. The second season premiered on Disney+, on September 15, 2023.
Premise[]
When Alex Russo aids and abets a young wizard named Olivia, she is forced to go into hiding and asks her brother Justin Russo to take her and Olivia in. He agrees, though his son Ryland quickly clashes with her. Justin revives his magical skills in order to mentor the young girl while balancing living a normal life and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World.
Cast[]
Malia Baker as Olivia
Brady Noon as Ryland Russo
Alkaio Thiele as Roman Russo
Millie Liao as Lyla Nichols
David Henrie as Justin Russo
Selena Gomez as Alex Russo
Main[]
- Malia Baker as Olivia Greyback, a young wizard who Justin takes under his wing upon Alex’s request
- Brady Noon as Ryland Russo, the reckless elder brother of the Russo siblings who clashes with Olivia
- Alkaio Thiele as Roman Russo, the youngest of the Russo kids who is studious and wants the approval of his older brother
- Millie Liao as Lyla Nichols, a creative and cheerful friend of Ryland’s who later befriends Olivia
- David Henrie as Justin Russo, Ryland and Roman’s dad and the vice principal of Greenwald Middle School, who is also secretly on the search for his wife, Juliet, Ryland and Roman’s mother.
- Selena Gomez as Alex Russo, a sly and witty wizard who moves in with her brother to help him with the boys and is secretly hiding along with Olivia from the Wizard Council. In the second season, Alex replaces Victor as head of the Wizard Council.
- Kate Reinders as Cindy Van Heusen, Juliet’s quirky but conceptual and controlling mother, who is determined to find her daughter.
Recurring[]
- Bill Chott as Houdini Laritate, the theatrical principal of Greenwald Middle School who is Justin’s boss and the twin of Hershel Laritate[1]
- Hayley Kiyoko as Stevie Nichols, an old friend of Alex’s who is also Lyla’s older sister and guardian
- Brad Garrett as Victor, the president of the Wizard Council who is intimidating yet unmotivated. In Season 2, he is demoted and becomes a regular member of the council.
- Yvette Nicole Brown as Winter, a member of the Wizard Council who solely uses spells related to the four elements
- John DiMaggio as Clover, a member of the Wizard Council who is a leprechaun
- Leven Rambin as Rosie, an Angel of Darkness who has crossed paths with Justin and the Russo family before and now heads the reformed Angels of Night (season 2)
- Freya Skye as Ingrid, Roman’s love interest who is thought to be oblivious to Magic until he learns she is an Angel of Night (season 2)
Guest stars[]
- Gregg Sulkin as Mason Greybeck, Olivia’s estranged father and Alex’s ex-boyfriend.
- David DeLuise as Jerry Russo, Justin and Alex’s father and Ryland and Roman’s grandfather.
- Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo, Justin and Alex’s mother and Ryland and Roman’s grandmother.
- Brenda Song as Bigelow Morphius, a villain who was Justin’s rival in WizTech and orchestrated most of the events which occurred during the first season. (season 1)
Series overview[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 14 | August 30, 2022 | December 6, 2022 | |
| 2 | 18 | September 15, 2023 | January 26, 2024 | |
Episodes[]
Season 1 (2022)[]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Everything is Not What It Seems" | August 30, 2022 | 101 | 1.35 |
| Alex Russo acts as a member of the Wizard Council, the main government structure of the Wizard World. Through a crystal ball, she learns that a newly enrolled student at WizTech, Olivia, is the only one capable of saving the world from an impending threat. The student is also discovered to be a crossbreed between a wizard and a werewolf, which makes her a criminal in the Wizard World. The remaining three members of the Wizard Council, and the Wizard World at large, set out to capture the young girl. However, Alex quickly rescues her and the two decide to hide out in the small town of West Valley in California, which is where Alex’s older brother, Justin Russo, resides alongside his family. As the ex-headmaster of WizTech, being let go following a mysterious incident, Alex entrusts him with Olivia and asks him to train her in order to help prepare her for what’s to come. Justin refuses, revealing he has left his past as a wizard behind him, and has not yet told his two sons, Ryland and Roman, that he is a wizard and that they themselves might have powers. Justin is pulled away in order to take care of a work emergency at Greenwald Middle School, where Alex follows him and continues her attempts to convince him. He explains he has no interest in returning to wizardry, though when a dangerous force infiltrates the Russo household and captures Olivia, he is forced to embrace his past and work along his sister to rescue her. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Wizards in Hot Water" | September 6, 2022 | 102 | 1.19 |
| Justin and Alex begin their trek across the Wizard World, searching far and wide for Olivia. Upon seeing wanted posters depicting both Alex and Olivia, the two Russo siblings try to lay low to avoid detection as they continue searching for her. Eventually, they stumble onto a trail which features footprints similar to the ones on Alex’s shoes and follow the path, which leads them to the lair in which Olivia is being held. The mysterious force which captured her is revealed to be Evil Alex, from The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, who is currently working alongside the Wizard Council to track down Alex and to “get rid” of Olivia. Alex uses her powers to defeat her villainous counterpart, while Justin tries to hurriedly teach Olivia a spell which will help free her from the shackles she is in. She successfully frees herself, and assists Alex in taking down Evil Alex. She also uses a memory erasing spell on the Wizard Council to ensure they do not remember the events of the past 24 hours. The trio flee from the Wizard World, and land back in Justin’s house. Justin agrees to take in Olivia and be her teacher, hoping to adequately teach her well enough to take on whatever is looming ahead. However, when Alex is about to confess that she also needs a place to hide out, Justin admits that raising his two sons on his own over the past few months has taken a toll on him and that the added responsibility of protecting and raising Olivia scares him. Alex “selflessly” offers to move in temporarily and help him out. Moments later, his mother in law Cindy Van Heusen bursts in, stating she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren and is taking over the master bedroom. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Spell Doesn’t Dismiss You" | September 13, 2022[2] | 103 | 0.73 |
| Justin loops Cindy in on what just occurred with Olivia as Cindy argues that his focus should be on finding her daughter, Juliet, to which Justin shushes her and reveals he never told Roman and Ryland what really happened to Juliet. She subsequently fields questions from Roman and Ryland on why Olivia is moving in, which only worsens when Ryland and Olivia clash over several things: taking too much time in the bathroom, getting the last pancake, among others. However, the news of Alex moving in goes over much smoother with the boys. The three kids head to their first day of school at Greenwald Middle School, where Olivia begins junior year and is desperate to fit in, but finds it difficult to make friends. She uses magic to win over Ryland’s best friend and crush, Lyla, much to his dismay, while Roman begins freshman year and immediately excels, both of which angers Ryland as he is an underachiever and is constantly compared to his younger brother and now to Olivia, by his teachers. Justin, as vice principal, is forced to give the three kids detention when their arguing leads to them breaking Principal Laritate’s most prized possession, a glass which was frequently used by Judy Garland. In detention, the three sort out their differences, and agree to tolerate one another. Ryland makes peace with the fact that Olivia and Lyla are now friends, as the three decide to go out for a movie once they are out of detention. Before leaving, Olivia uses a spell to repair the broken glass, and leaves as a confused Mr. Laritate returns to his prized possession back in once peace. In a post credits scene, Lyla is seen talking to someone through an amulet as her eyes glow red.
Guest: Bill Chott as Mr Houdini Laritate | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Cindydoodle" | September 20, 2022[2] | 104 | 0.69 |
| Following a chaotic morning, Justin lets Olivia get accustomed to the lair before her first lesson in wizardry, which he plans on giving her later that night. However, when she accidentally uses the Animoza Espinoza spell on Cindy which turns her into a Labradoodle, she and Justin work to undo the spell, though this proves difficult as Cindy chases after a squirrel and gets lost in the streets of West Valley, forcing the pair to look for her. Along the way, Justin teaches Olivia numerous spells, which overwhelms her. Eventually, Justin finds Cindy in an animal shelter and has to pretend, along with Olivia, to adopt her but runs into trouble when the animal care assistant deems them unfit to care for a dog. Meanwhile, when Alex begins to suspect that Ryland’s powers may be coming in, she asks Roman to closely inspect him to see if anything unusual happens, claiming that she thinks Ryland is “going through puberty again”. Justin teaches Olivia a convincement spell to convince the worker to let them adopt Cindy and he transforms her back into a human upon returning home. Roman reports back to Alex that no unusual behavior from Ryland, and she comes to the conclusion that Justin’s kids do not have any powers, as they can skip a generation. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Which Wizard is Which?" | September 27, 2022[2] | 105 | 0.62 |
| When a rainstorm casts a shadow over Olivia’s big day with Lyla, she decides to instead plan a sleepover at her house, where Lyla’s elder sister and guardian is revealed to be Stevie Nichols, a powerful wizard whom at one point attempted to form a wizard revolution before being frozen in stone. When a returning to visit Alex learns of this, she begins to suspect that Stevie is once again up to no good and informs Olivia that Lyla might be a wizard as well. Justin catches wind of this and asks Alex to tag along to Olivia’s sleepover, though she has her reservations. When explaining the situation to Olivia, she casts a body switching spell so that Alex can investigate whether or not Stevie is planning something without arising suspicion, and can investigate whether or not Lyla is a wizard. Alex attends the sleepover, while Olivia runs into trouble at home when a full moon transforms her into a werewolf and she must run around the house, avoiding detection from Roman and Ryland. Alex is told by Stevie that she is no longer nefarious, as she was ordered to spend six months in "soul rehab", as determined by the Wizard Council. Justin attends a seemingly never-ending dinner party hosted by Principal Laritate and spend the evening desperately trying to escape.
Guests: Bill Chott as Mr. Houdini Laritate and Hayley Kiyoko as Stevie Nichols | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Honesty is the Best Policy" | October 4, 2022[2] | 106 | 0.57 |
| Ryland sneaks out of the house late at night and, when he sneaks back in, runs into Olivia who has caught on him. He refuses to tell her where he has gone, which infuriates her. She threatens to tell Justin, though he convinces Roman to vouch for him as his alibi. Frustrated, Olivia turns to Justin, who teaches her a truth spell, which forces Ryland to tell the truth about everything. He confesses that he has been sneaking out to hang out with his friends. The next day, at school, things go very wrong when Ryland can’t stop telling the truth. Olivia struggles to find a way to undo the spell without asking Justin for help, though he eventually realizes what has happened and informs Olivia that the spell has been recalled for having several glitches. He has to work alongside her to undo the spell before Ryland reveals his true romantic feelings for Lyla to her. Meanwhile, a messenger frog informs Alex that a threat has been detected in West Valley. She arrives at the school to inform Justin, only to see that a creature known as a Phantomus has tracked down Olivia through the detection of active magic and is attacking her. She helps Olivia and Justin get rid of the Phantomus. Olivia uses the Cerebellum Erasus spell to erase her classmates memories of the Phantomus and erases Ryland’s memory as well. The family eventually returns home to discover a cloaked figure has captured Cindy and is holding her hostage until Olivia turns herself in. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Russo to the Rescue" | October 18, 2022 | 107 | 0.64 |
| Olivia contemplates turning herself in to save Cindy, saying she has only caused harm and misfortune upon entering the Russo family’s lives, but Justin is against this idea and proposes an alternate plan, assuring her that there is always another way. Alex and Olivia set out to rescue Cindy from the cloaked figure and embark on a wild goose chase around the Wizard World, though they disguise themselves using a transformation spell which significantly alters their appearance to ensure they are not spotted by anyone. Meanwhile, Justin is caught in a lie by Ryland and Roman when explaining why they do not remember the events of the day prior and where everybody else is, and the two brothers work together to interrogate their father, The boys are confused and scared, before Justin eventually tells them the truth. He reveals to them that he was a wizard, as are Alex and Olivia. Following a confrontation with the cloaked figure, Alex and Olivia are stunned to find out that the person behind the cloak is Stevie, who was not reformed by the actions of the Wizard Council but was instead put under a spell by the mysterious new head of WizTech to act as a puppet, using her powers to their benefit. Alex begins to reconsider what Stevie originally wanted, which was to conduct a revolution of wizards to override the power distributor, which is what takes wizards’ powers away and transfers them when they lose in their family’s wizard competition. She reminds Stevie of who she used to be, which offsets the spell she was put under. Together, Alex, Olivia and Stevie rescue Cindy and plan to overthrow the Wizard Council, who they now realize are corrupt and discriminatory. Stevie asks Alex to take in Lyla as she will attempt to take down the Wizard Council from the inside for an indeterminate amount of time. As Stevie returns home, she sees Lyla speaking to herself, though what she doesn’t know is that Lyla is actually speaking to her amulet. The amulet glows, and her eyes simultaneously glow red once more.
Guest: Hayley Kiyoko as Stevie Nichols | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "One Wizard at a Time" | October 25, 2022 | 108 | 0.51 |
| Once Alex and Olivia return to the mortal world, they are bombarded by questions from Roman and Ryland, who now know that they are wizards. They ask Justin if they themselves are wizards, to which he responds by saying they can’t know for sure unless they hold a wand. The boys ask more questions, though Justin is whisked away to work when Mr. Laritate calls an emergency meeting. The boys ask Olivia if they can use her wand, which she refuses to let them do. They hold back until she has her guard down, before stealing her wand, which they quickly learn is a decoy. She places a spell on the boys that traps them in a bubble until they both agree to not touch her wand ever again. Meanwhile, Justin assists Mr. Laritate in interviewing art teachers, which turns out to be more than he bargained for when all the candidates are rather unusual. Later that night, during a sleepover at the Russo house, Lyla spies on Roman and Ryland attempting to use Olivia’s real wand as she is asleep, though the boys quickly catch onto the fact that they do not have powers, leaving them disappointed. Lyla steals Olivia’s wand though she is spotted by Roman, leaving her no choice but to cast a memory erasure spell on him before she disappears into the night.
Guest: Bill Chott as Mr Houdini Laritate | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Sick Day" | November 1, 2022 | 109 | 0.44 |
| The following morning, Lyla informs Justin of what she saw the boys doing the night prior, which the boys do not remember. When the wand goes missing, Olivia accuses them of stealing it. Justin grounds the boys until they tell them where the wand is. At school, Olivia and Ryland are paired up as partners for a science project and are almost immediately at one another’s throats. Tensions are high among the the pair, as Olivia goes to Lyla for comfort while Ryland goes to Justin, and the two suggest very different ways of handling conflict to the both of them. Olivia uses a cooperation spell on Ryland, which ensures he will say yes to her no matter what, in order for him to agree to all her decisions. Lyla winds up taking advantage of this, which causes Ryland to wrongly confess to stealing the wand. After cloning the wand, Lyla returns it to Olivia’s locker at the end of the school day as if nothing ever happened. Meanwhile, Cindy cares for and keeps a watchful eye over a sick Roman, who desperately wants to get out of bed to attend his classes as he has a big test and goes above and beyond in trying to escape the confines of his bedroom. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Stone-Faced" | November 8, 2022 | 110 | 0.75 |
| In the wizard world, Alex is seen trying to track down a mysterious force that is corrupting the wizard world. She hides as the members of the Wizard council, Victor, Winter, and Clover, are seen with armed guards searching for her. She barely evades them after almost being found and continues trekking down the Weeping Waterfall. At the bottom, she finds a secret lair where she sees a crystal ball that is watching Olivia. Upon further exploration, Alex finds blueprints for a project under the name of Project Russo. Alex takes images of them before she uncovers a number of stone figures structured in a museum style fashion, where she sees Stevie, who has been turned to stone. Alex tries to reverse the spell on Stevie, but her magic is blocked. She is suddenly caught by a guard who wanders into the lair, and she is taken into custody. Alex is imprisoned and kept under the watchful eye of Winter, a member of the Wizard council who holds the power of all four elements. Alex charms Winter and manages to trick her, stealing the keys to her cell and to the locker in which her belongings are being kept. Alex retrieves her wander before teleporting out, only for her magic to glitch and transport her to Antarctica, where she is forced to walk back as her wand freezes.
Guests: Hayley Kiyoko as Stevie, Brad Garrett as Victor, Yvette Nicole Brown as Winter, and John DiMaggio as Clover | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "Family Reunion" | November 15, 2022 | 111 | 0.63 |
| When Olivia is in a bit of a funk, her powers begin to malfunction. She can’t seem to figure out why she feels this way and Justin tries to help her out of it by teaching her a number of new spells to help her reinvigorate her passion for magic. However, when that doesn’t work, she confesses feeling disconnected from her werewolf side and wants to learn more about being a werewolf. Though she doesn’t know her parents, Justin vows to help her find her father whom he knows is a werewolf. He uses the wizard phonebook to find him and transport him to the liar. Olivia’s father tuns out to be Alex’s ex-boyfriend, Mason, much to the shock of Justin. Once he explains why he had to leave Olivia, as he knew she would be able to avoid detection from the Wizard Council, she begins to warm up to him and later bonds with him over their shared traits and tendencies, which hurts Justin’s feelings as she begins to choose spending time with her father over spending time with him. When Olivia skips out on her daily wizardry lesson, Roman volunteers to take her place to comfort Justin. Meanwhile, Cindy tries to assist Ryland with his homework but cannot get a grasp on it. In the end, Mason asks Olivia to move to his home in London with him in front of the whole family, leaving her conflicted.
| |||||
| 12 | 12 | "Choices and Reckoning" | November 22, 2022 | 112 | 0.58 |
| Olivia is unsure of whether or not she wants to stay in West Valley or live with her father, Mason. She briefly considers using the Edgebonoutoosis spell to duplicate herself, thus allowing her to live in both West Valley and London. However, she immediately notices a flaw in her plan when she discovers her duplicate repeatedly bumping into a wall. A heartbroken Cindy redecorates Olivia’s room, makes her favorite meals, and even bribes her with money to convince her to stay. Ryland, on the other hand, is gleeful that he will get his room back at last and is still bitter that Olivia accused him of stealing of her wand. Roman offers help as Olivia can’t make her decision, bringing up something he learned during his wizard lesson: a Magic 8 ball can be enchanted by a wizard to guide its user in the right direction. The pair acquire a Magic 8 ball by “borrowing” Ryland’s, and when the ball informs her that she should move to London, Olivia informs everybody that she will be moving out. As she begins to pack a suitcase, Olivia casts a spell on the Magic 8 ball to give her more guidance. Upon shaking it, the ball informs Olivia that Lyla was the culprit who stole her wand, not Ryland as she had assumed. When Olivia confronts Lyla, the latter’s eyes glow red as she turns Ryland, Roman, and Cindy into stone before escaping. With her wand still in her hand as she is being turned to stone, Olivia thinks fast and teleports herself to Alex’s location before she can be turned completely. When she lands in Antarctica, a scared Olivia seeks comfort in Alex, who calms her down and asks her to bring them home. Upon doing so, Alex asks Olivia to give her more information on what’s happening. She then encourages her to try living a normal, mortal life in London, and assures her that she will find out what’s happening to Lyla. Justin returns home from work, shocked at the sight of his sons encased in stone. | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "And Away We Go!" | November 29, 2022 | 113 | 0.60 |
| A mere twelve hours before Olivia is set to move, Alex receives a letter through the Wizard Instant Parcel Service, where she is warned that the Wizard Council members have entered the mortal world to search for and retrieve Olivia. Alex suggests that Olivia leave for London immediately, though Olivia isn’t too keen on the idea as she wouldn’t feel okay knowing that the Russo family may be in danger. The house is suddenly swarmed by creatures from the Wizard World and Alex uses her powers to transport Justin and Olivia along with herself to Waverly Place in New York, where she and Justin grew up. Jerry and Theresa, Justin and Alex’s parents, are awoken by the noise caused by the three teleporting into the home. In a haste, Alex explains the situation to her parents, though Theresa is too exhausted to pay attention and keeps falling asleep. Justin and Alex enlist Jerry’s help on how to put a stop to the Wizard Council before they track Olivia down, and he suggests tying the three council members in a specific type of shackle, which negates any magical abilities they may have. Together, Olivia, Alex, and Justin take down the three members of the Wizard Council one by one, tying them up and calmly stating Olivia’s case, while also calling out the Wizard World’s prejudice against other magical creatures, such as werewolves and vampires. The members of the Wizard Council ultimately agree with Olivia that wizards need to be more tolerant of other beings and reveal they were just trying to protect Olivia. Olivia unties them, only for them to betray Olivia’s trust and say that they are still under the head of WizTech’s jurisdiction. They imprison Olivia, as well as Alex, though they leave Justin, Theresa, and Jerry who are shocked by the events that just transpired.
Guests: Brad Garrett as Victor, Yvette Nicole Brown as Winter, John DiMaggio as Clover, Maria Canals Barrera as Theresa, and David DeLuise as Jerry | |||||
| 14 | 14 | "Moving Day" | December 6, 2022 | 114 | 0.72 |
| Helplessly, Justin returns to West Valley, where he just barely stops Lyla from vaporizing his sons statues to ashes. After a battle of the wands between Justin and Lyla, Lyla faints and awakens out of the trance. Roman and Ryland are also unfrozen and learn that they now have magic abilities from Lyla’s amulet shattering. Justin enlists the help of his two sons to free the two girls, who put their newfound powers to good use by breaking them out, though there is now a much bigger problem at hand: the mysterious head of WizTech is revealed to be Bigelow Morphius (Brenda Song), a powerful wizard who was Justin’s rival in WizTech, and has sought revenge on him ever since he became headmaster several years ago. Bigelow places a spell on an imprisoned Olivia to use her powers against Ryland and Roman, though the brothers manage to successfully banish her and free Olivia from the spell she is under. Alex is also set free, and assures Olivia that she will actively work alongside the Wizard Council to ensure that the more cruel and callous side of the Wizard World is no longer encouraged. Victor, Winter, and Clover offer Justin a spot on the Wizard Council which he graciously accepts, and promote Alex to being the head of the council. Alex gloats about having a higher position than Justin. Everybody returns to Waverly Place, where Alex says her goodbyes to her family, stating she hopes to put in place a new set of laws for all wizards to follow that will guarantee nothing similar to what happened to Olivia will ever occur again. Theresa and Jerry state how proud they are of the woman Alex has become. Alex and the Wizard Council return to the Wizard World and begin working towards their goal. Olivia and the Russo family return to West Valley, where a confused Mason is slowly caught up as to what happened. Olivia eventually states that she does not want to move away with him, and would rather stay in West Valley, which she refers to as her home. Mason takes this in stride and agrees to visit her as often as he can. Once he leaves, Roman initiates a group hug and cements Olivia as part of the Russo family. In a tag scene, a mysterious force picks up the broken amulet shards from Waverly Place, vowing to find Juliet before Justin gets the chance.
Guests: Brad Garrett as Victor, Yvette Nicole Brown as Winter, John DiMaggio as Clover, Brenda Song as Bigelow Morphius, Gregg Sulkin as Mason Greyback, Maria Canals Barrera as Theresa, and David DeLuise as Jerry | |||||
Season 2 (2023–2024)[]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1 | "Too Cool for School" | September 15, 2023 | 201 | 0.84 |
| As part of Olivia’s first day in the upper Greenwald building after graduating from the lower building, Ryland is assigned by Justin to show her around, to which he begrudgingly agrees. Lyla, however, insists that Olivia does not need to be shown around and what she really needs to be focused on is scouting out boys to date. Meanwhile, Roman feels lonely as he is in his last year in the lower building and will be countering it all by himself, due to Olivia moving up. Cindy comforts him by showing him the benefits of being the sole Russo in the lower building. During the school day, Justin learns that Principal Laritate will be retiring at the end of the school year and wants Justin to take over as Principal. A conflicted Justin facetimes Alex, who is currently away learning the ropes of being the head of the Wizard Council, to which Justin ironically points out Winter and Clover playing tennis behind her and Alex hangs up. Back at Wizard Headquarters, the home of the Wizard Council, Victor arrives and points out that a strange energy is emitting from Greenwald Middle School. Justin walks out of Laritate’s office to find a Floogie, a small but dangerous creature from the Wizard world, which has frozen Roman. Olivia and Ryland use their combined powers but when Lyla tries to help, she is mysteriously electrocuted which makes her wonder if her powers are starting to fade since she returned to being a do-gooder. Nonetheless, Olivia and Ryland successfully work together to beat the Floogie and Roman is unfrozen but Justin continues to wonder how it was summoned as Alex strolls in, only after the Floogie has been banished back to the Wizard world. A mysterious girl (Freya Skye) is seen standing above the stairwell as the Russo family leaves the school. | |||||
| 16 | 2 | "Wandering Off" | September 22 2023 | 202 | 0.81 |
| Jerry arrives to visit Justin and his grandchildren, explaining that he now has a lot of free time on his hands ever since Theresa decided to take up tennis, which he isn’t any good at. Justin is ecstatic to spend time with his father, only for Jerry to reveal his true intention for the surprise visit: he has lost his portal key to the Wizard world. Upon Jerry’s request, Justin angrily returns to Waverly Place to help him in finding it. Meanwhile, Cindy is shocked to learn that Roman has a date with a girl in his chemistry class and attempts to provide him with out-of-touch tips on how to treat a woman, which Olivia and Ryland both actively shut down, though they eventually begin squabbling when Ryland continuously suggests behavior that Olivia considers ridiculous or immature. Roman decides to take his brother’s advice, which upsets Olivia and prompts her to cast a spell on him to obey her every command. This backfires when she tells him to take a leap of faith, which causes Roman to head to the wizard world to take a leap off the top of Mount Wizcatraz. Olivia and Ryland stop him breaking the spell just in time before Roman is about to jump. Meanwhile, Justin and Jerry find Jerry's wand in the sofa cushion and reflect on their day of bonding. The episode ends with Justin receiving a facetime call from Alex, who warns that an oracle told her everyone on the Wizard Council cannot be trusted.
| |||||
| 17 | 3 | "Potion Explosion" | September 29, 2023 | 203 | |
| 18 | 4 | "Mirror, Mirror in the Hall" | October 6, 2023 | 204 | |
| 19 | 5 | "A Wand in the Wrong Hands" | October 13, 2023 | 205 | |
| 20 | 6 | "Spell It Like It Is" | October 20, 2023 | 206 | |
| 21 | 7 | "Sleight of Fright" | October 27, 2023 | 207 | |
| 22 | 8 | "The Truth Hurts (and Sometimes Floats)" | November 3, 2023 | 208 | |
| 23 | 9 | "Double Spelled" (Part 1) | November 10, 2023 | 211 | |
| 24 | 10 | "Double Spelled" (Part 2) | November 17, 2023 | 212 | |
| 25 | 11 | "A Very Russo Thanksgiving" | November 24, 2023 | 209 | |
| 26 | 12 | "Return of the Angels" | December 1, 2023 | 213 | |
| 27 | 13 | "Wizards vs. Angels in West Valley" | December 8, 2023 | 214 | |
| 28 | 14 | "Tinsel, Toads, and Trouble" | December 15, 2023 | 210 | |
| 29 | 15 | "I’ve Got a Spell on You" | January 5, 2024 | 215 | |
| 30 | 16 | "Wizard Camp" (Part 1) | January 12, 2024 | 216 | |
| 31 | 17 | "Wizard Camp" (Part 2) | January 19, 2024 | 217 | |
| 32 | 18 | "Wizard Camp" (Part 3) | January 26, 2024 | 218 | |
Production[]
Development[]
In February 2022, it was announced that Disney Channel had placed a straight-to-series order of thirteen episodes for a sequel television series to Wizards of Waverly Place. Selena Gomez and David Henrie were announced to be returning for the series, with the former two also acting as executive producers alongside Aaron Mason, Gary Marsh, and Fickman. Disney Channel ordered one additional episode for the first season on August 31, 2022, extending the season to fourteen episodes. The series was renewed for a second season on November 2, 2022.
Casting[]
Upon the announcement of the series, it was reported that Malia Baker would be starring in the lead role of Olivia. David Henrie was also announced to be reprising their his role from the original series, whereas Gomez was announced to be appearing in a recurring capacity, though she would later be upgraded to a series regular prior to the start of production. Brady Noon and Alkaio Thiele were added to the main cast as Ryland and Roman, respectively, on March 1, 2022. Millie Liao was announced to be added to the main cast in May 2022. Jane Lynch was added to the cast in June 2022.
Filming[]
Filming began in Los Angeles in May 2022, once Gomez had completed production on the second season of Only Murders in the Building. Production on the season concluded on September 30, 2022. The second season commenced filming on March 3, 2023 and wrapped on October 6, 2023.
Release[]
The trailer for Wizards of West Valley amassed 80 million viewers in two weeks across all social media platforms. It became Disney Channel’s most-watched trailer of all time. The series premiered on August 30, 2022, on Disney Channel. The first six episodes became available to stream on Disney+ on September 10, with episodes 3–6 being released prior to their televised premieres. The remaining eight episodes of the season were released on Disney+ on December 17, 2022. Variety reported in March 2023 that the second season would premiere on Disney+, before later being broadcast on Disney Channel.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.3/10, based on 15 critic reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 81 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Ratings[]
In a report published by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney stated that Wizards of West Valley had debuted with 3.9 million views globally in its first two days on Disney+, making it the most-watched series premiere on the platform for a Disney Channel production. The show ranked as the top streaming series in the U.S. among Kids 6—11, Girls 6—11, Teens, and Adults 18—24 during its first five days. The release of the full first episode on YouTube attracted 1.8 million views, marking the channel’s best performance for a new full episode since 2017. Social media activity generated over 125 million impressions and 13 million engagements on platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. In total, when including the premiere’s linear broadcast viewership of 1.3 million and delayed viewing, the series opened to 7.5 million views globally.
Amid the launch of the series’ first six episodes on Disney+, Wizards of West Valley scored 671 million viewing minutes during the week of September 12—18, according to Nielsen streaming data, and became the fourth most-watched original series across all streaming services.
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2nd Children’s and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children’s or Family Viewing Series | Wizards of West Valley | Nominated |
| Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Preschool, Children’s or Young Teen Program | Selena Gomez | Won | ||
| Outstanding Younger Performer in a Preschool, Children’s or Young Teen Program | Malia Baker | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Writing for a Live Action Preschool or Children’s Program | Various | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Multiple Camera Program | Various | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Casting for a Live-Action Program | Alexis Frank Koczara, Christine Smith Shevchenko |
Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Live Action Multiple-Camera Program | C. Clifford Jones | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design/Styling | Layne McGovern | Nominated |