In the last two decades or so, Disney Channel procured many great TV shows and movies for children and teenagers. We all remember Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, Sonny With a Chance, Suite Life On Deck, and many more, and amongst them was a fantasy teen sitcom, Wizards of Waverly Place. The TV show began Selena Gomez and her notable acting music and acting career. Besides propelling some great careers, Wizards of Waverly Place was a great fantasy teen show that “hooked” many teenagers to small screens (including me).
The show follows the Russo family, specifically Alex Russo, a teenage wizard living in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, who, along with her siblings, is training to become a Family Wizard.
The episodes focus on the Russo siblings and their future of inheriting their family’s powers. Each episode proposes challenges for Alex in her journey of becoming a wizard while also handling being a teenager in the middle of New York City. Not everything is perfect for Alex, but the lessons she learns while handling being the wizard that will take over for her family are educational and motivating. Having said that, let’s take a look at the watcher order for Wizards of Waverly Place.
How many Wizards of Waverly Place seasons and movies are out there?
There are actually a lot of Wizards of Waverly Place content released today. There are four seasons of the TV series, a movie, and a special released in 2013.
Each season, the film and a movie brought new Wizards of Waverly Place storylines and developments, and we will explain everything in detail further in the article.
What is the best way to watch Wizards of Waverly Place?
We recommend watching Wizards of Waverly Place chronologically. The show sometimes did release stand-alone episodes that focused on separate storylines, but they still had some connections to the show’s main timeline.
The chronological and release date watch order of Wizards of Waverly Place is the same, so you won’t make a mistake following one order or another.
Wizards of Waverly Place seasons and movies in order (at glance)
As we already mentioned, plenty of Wizards of Waverly Place content was released over the years, including seasons of the show, a movie, and a standalone special. The first season kickstarted years of great and consistent content of a teen Disney show, and viewers loved every second of it.
This next list is the chronological/release date watch order of Wizards of Waverly Place:
- Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 1 (2007-2008)
- Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 2 (2008-2009)
- Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009)
- Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 3 (2009-2010)
- Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 4 (2010-2012)
- The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex – Special (2013)
We will mention more details about each season, movie, and special, and the success Disney series gained over the years. Moreover, we will mention the platforms where you can watch Wizards of Waverly Place content and if there will be a related project in the future. If you are interested in this topic, stay with us until the end of the article.
Wizards of Waverly Place watch order (chronological)
1. Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 1 (2007-2008)
The first season of Wizards of Waverly Place sees the introduction of the Mexican-Italian family Russo, which includes Alex, her older brother Justin, and younger brother Max. All three of the siblings are training to become the leading wizard in their family and to go to that level, they need to go through various challenges and rigorous training to acquire “wizarding” skills.
Their father, Jerry, is a former magician, while their mother is a mortal woman who delegates between her children and their goal to become wizards. Alex’s high school life is also quite important in the series since it closely correlates with her journey as a teenager in New York and a future wizard. Season One was a success and marked the start of the Wizards of Waverly Place franchise.
2. Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 2 (2008-2009)
After introducing the characters and storylines in the first season, the second season starts with Alex and Justin having love interests and the siblings handling the wizard training and their teenage lives simultaneously. Alex finally tells her best friend, Harper, about her “secret” life, and a few cool Disney crossovers happen.
The cast of Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana cross over with Wizards of Waverly Place, and a special two-part episode called Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana between the notable Disney shows brought fresh content to the already stacked show.
3. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009)
After season two of Wizards of Waverly Place ended in 2009, the Russo family got their movie the same year closely tied to the show’s plot. At the end of season two, Jerry and his siblings went through another Wizard Test.
After a lot of self-reflection as wizards and family, Russos decides to go for a deserved vacation, except for Alex, who wants to stay with her best friend Harper and hang out. After an altercation that endangered her and Harper, Alex’s mother, Theresa, decides to go with them to the Caribbean.
In her anger about going with her family, Alex decides to “mess” with magic and is forbidden to use it on vacation as a punishment from her parents. Alex is mad and wishes her parents never met, which gets fulfilled with the help of magic.
Now, Alex, with the help of Justin, needs to find a way to reverse the spell and save her family. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie enjoyed success with its young audience and became the second most-viewed Disney Channel Original Movie premiere, just after High School Musical 2.
4. Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 3 (2009-2010)
In season four of the Wizards of Waverly Place, we see Justin graduating as a wizard without needing to take wizard training classes with his siblings. Alex deems that as a motivation to work even harder with the help of her best friend, Harper. Alex gets a new love interest, a werewolf named Mason, while Justin’s girlfriend, Juliet (a vampire), is transformed into her real-age look, which makes Justine break up with her.
The youngest sibling, Max, meets his first girlfriend, and Justin tries to go through his senior years of high school as a “cool” guy. The season finale tests the older siblings to the maximum when the government agents find out Russos are wizards. Their lives are in danger, and Alex’s leadership and composure “win” over Justin’s insecurities and bad decisions.
5. Wizards of Waverly Place – Season 4 (2010-2012)
After the season three finale exposed Russos and other wizards among the “normal” population, thanks to Justin, Alex steps us as the leader and wizard of great qualities. Alex and Justin quit the wizard competition, and Max becomes a family wizard. This is a great shock to anyone since he was the youngest and had the “least” potential.
Alex also tries to save her relationship with Mason by reentering the Wizard Competition, while Justin is again falling in love with girls with supernatural natures. Season four marks the last season of Wizards of Waverly Place, and the show ends with the declaration of the Family Wizard and the fate of the Russo family business.
6. The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex – Special (2013)
However, despite season four being the last season of the show, Wizards of Waverly Place was not done yet, and the special The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex marks the true finale of the show. The special is also considered the sequel to Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, which was released between seasons two and three.
Russos are going on another trip, this time to Tuscany, Italy, where they are trying to get a hold of their long-lost relatives. Alex, once again, feels like she’s been judged by her family and decides to split her personality. Of course, in true Wizards of Waverly Place fashion, Alex released her evil doppelganger, who wreaks havoc everywhere.
After Alex learns a valuable lesson with the help of her family and best friend, Harper, the show ends on a bright note, and Alex Russo becomes the wizard she always wanted to be.
Where to watch Wizards of Waverly Place?
All the seasons of the Wizards of Waverly Place TV series, a movie, and a special are currently available on Disney+ platforms.
Do you need to watch Wizards of Waverly Place in order?
If you really want to indulge in the world of Wizards of Waverly Place, definitely go with our chronological/release date order. It’s the best way to understand the main storyline of the franchise and fulfill the TV series’ blank holes with movies.
The movie special that was released in 2013 is important for watching after the Wizards TV series and the movie since it marks the official series finale of Wizards of Waverly Place. So yes, you should watch the Wizards in chronological order.
Are Wizards of Waverly Place TV series, movies, and a special connected?
Wizards of Waverly Place show, a movie, and a special, are all connected with it each other. All projects in this Disney franchise are connected by the same storyline – the life of the Russo family and their “magical” way of living amongst the normal population.
The lore and the franchise’s universe also expand with the Wizards of Waverly Place progression, which should be an indicator of the franchise being connected by the same storyline.
Will there be more Wizards of Waverly Place projects in the future?
Reboots and remakes have been really popular in the last few years; some have come to fruition, and some haven’t. Researching this topic for the article, I’ve rarely seen the actors of the past project so eagerly talking and outright campaigning for the new projects of the franchise. Wizards of Waverly Place was a successful Disney Channel fantasy teen show, which gained a lot of fans, and propelled stars like Selena Gomez’s acting and musical careers.
Gomez herself, and David Henrie, who played her brother Justin on the show, talked about the possibility of rebooting the Wizards in the future. During the interview with Access in 2020, David Henrie and Gregg Sulkin talked about how they want to create a great Wizards project in the future.
Selena Gomez said in 2022 that if there is one role she wants to reboot, it would be Alex Russo and Wizards of Waverly Place. Shortly after, she posted on her Instagram profile a photo of her standing next to the Waverly Place sign in New York City, which hinted once again about the possibility of the Wizards of Waverly Place project.
Moreover, Selena Gomez and David Henrie are increasingly doing work behind the camera, and their work as executive producer and director, respectively, may indicate if there will be any project in the future, the duo will definitely put their stamp on the project. In the end, we can hope the show gets some kind of reboot or a new project since all of the original castmates are eager to return to star in this notable Disney Channel show.
