Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is officially back on Disney Channel and Disney+ for season two, and to no surprise, fans are in for even more spells, surprises, and heartfelt moments from the Russo family we’ve grown up with.
This season, the family magic competition is in full swing and the stakes are higher than ever, as Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) discovers that being a Russo isn’t as simple as it seems. Now that her brothers Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko) have unlocked their own magical powers, the family’s household dynamic gets turned upside down. Justin Russo (David Henrie) suddenly finds himself training three young wizards for the all-important Family Wizard Competition, while a mysterious new threat looms in the shadows.
Celeb Secrets sat down with David and Janice to learn more about not only how viewers will get to see the family really embrace their new identity before they begin The Family Wizard competition, but also the epic return of Alex Russo, played by none other than Selena Gomez.
“The Family Wizard competition begins and it builds to this epic, climactic two-part season finale where Selena [Gomez] comes back—and we tie back to the original,” the actor told Celeb Secrets in an exclusive interview during a virtual junket. “There’s some moments you’re gonna be like, ‘did they really go there in a kid show?’ And it’s like, yeah, we did.”
Henrie says the season takes everything fans loved about Wizards of Waverly Place — the humor, the heart, and the chaos — and adds a layer of emotional storytelling that feels more cinematic. “You’re still gonna get the big heart, the big laugh that I think you’re used to in our sitcom,” he explains. “But we really embrace some serialization that you don’t see so often in sitcoms.
“There’s a big scene where you’re gonna be crying and you’re gonna see something that really ties into Alex’s backstory. I can’t give it away here, but I hope you notice it,” he continues.
Brown adds that things are getting, well, “mind-blowing.”
“There’s definitely a lot more ways [the Russos’ world] could get shaken up,” Brown shared. “There’s also gonna be a pretty big thing that’s gonna happens in season 2—so keep your eyes peeled for that.”
In season two, the magical chaos also hits closer to home. Justin’s trying to balance training three young wizards while being a father figure to Billie, who’s still figuring out what it means to be a Russo.
“It’s definitely very challenging,” Brown admits. “[Billie’s] very competitive, so it’s definitely gonna test her for sure. But, I’m really glad that she’s not gonna be in this thing alone and she now has the Russos by her side and she’s learning every day from them.
Henrie says those father-daughter moments have been some of his favorites to explore and even direct.
“We do our first Christmas episode, and that was the one that I got to direct, which was a privilege,” he explains. “In that episode, there’s some really beautiful themes about protecting yourself and almost trying to create some sort of excuse for not getting love. I try to reinforce that our love is unconditional, that our love is there, that our love will be there, and it’s a really beautiful arc and it’s so appropriate to do it over the Christmas season.”
Of course, one of the biggest draws of Season 2 is Gomez’s highly-anticipated return as Alex Russo, which Henrie says was her “Emmy-best performance.”
“She has to be very emotional at times, and it reminded me of our past because when we did the Wizards Movie together, she was struggling to get the tears out [during a sad scene] and I had to have a deep conversation to get the waterworks going,” he recalls. “She did it eventually, but now, you know, however many years later, we’re doing this very emotional scene, and she gets there in a second.”
In addition to Selena, these new string of episodes feature cameos from What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén and ZOMBIES 4 fan favorite Freya Skye.
“She’s so funny. Literally sweetest person ever,” Brown gushed about Freya.
Henrie also emphasized Freya’s talents: “Some kids just have that like natural ability and she just crushed it [for not doing a sitcom]. She came in and hung with all of us who’ve been doing it for a long time.”
With Easter eggs, family lessons, and plenty of magical mishaps, Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place promises to deliver everything fans loved about the original with a new and modern twist.
For more on the exciting new season, make sure to watch our full interview with David and Janice below — and don’t forget to catch all of the episodes on both Disney Channel and Disney+.
