Wizards of Waverly Place is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012.

The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wizard living on Waverly Place in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, who undertakes training alongside her brothers, Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin), who are also equipped with magical abilities.

Wizards of Waverly Place enjoyed consistently high viewership in the United States on broadcast television and tie-ins included merchandise, a soundtrack album and video game adaptations.

Television critics praised the show for its humor and cast; Gomez's affiliation with the network led to a prominent musical career apart from the program.

Alex, Justin, and Max Russo are three teenage wizards-in-training living in an apartment on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City.

[2] Jerry and his wife Theresa run a family business, a sandwich shop designed to look like a subway station, on the ground level of their apartment building.

[7] Leading into the fourth and final season Alex and Justin are both tricked into exposing the existence of wizards to government officials and a group of reporters.

[8][9] It is revealed that the whole scenario was a test devised as part of their training, and consequently, Alex and Justin are demoted to lower positions in the family competition.

[12] Alex wins the family wizard competition and is awarded full magic powers, while Justin is allowed to retain his abilities when he assumes the role of headmaster at WizTech, a boarding school for young wizards-in-training.

[14][15][16] Series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the Harry Potter franchise, and a trend towards the fantasy television genre, made stories about children with magical powers popular.

[17][18][19] Episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place typically show the Russo children using magic to solve an issue in their personal lives quickly, but they learn not to become dependent on their powers, as only one of the siblings is expected to retain them following the family competition.

[11][18] Conflicts in the series arise from Alex's struggle to balance both her private and her public life; her identity is built upon the magical powers which she must keep hidden.

[20] Scholar Colin Ackerman suggests that the concept of magic in the series is a form of social privilege and the Russo children are encouraged to keep their advantage hidden.

Jerry and Theresa teach their children the significance of family, hard work and responsibility; the characters regularly learn lessons such as the importance of staying true to oneself.

[1] Peter Murrieta had worked previously on the sitcom Hope & Faith in New York City and had moved to Los Angeles before being approached by Disney to help develop the series.

[27][29] Adam Bonnett, a Disney Channel programming executive, cited the influence of sitcoms Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie on the series.

[35] Gomez was attached to the series by February 2007, as well as David Henrie and Jake T. Austin; the characters were named Brooke, Sully and Max O'Malley at this stage.

[36] Guest stars during the course of the series include Bridgit Mendler as Juliet van Heusen, Justin's vampire girlfriend,[18] and Gregg Sulkin as Mason Greyback, Alex's werewolf boyfriend.

[50] Vince Cheung and Ben Montanio became the new showrunners and executive producers alongside Greenwald; Gomez announced in July that it would be the final season of the program.

Marah Eakin felt that it was a positive departure from Disney's typical series, with minimal slapstick humor but still having exaggerated acting.

[18][53] Additionally, McNamara believed that Justin and Max did not serve as comic relief; Jake T. Austin was called "absurdly hilarious" by blogger Mark Robinson.

[18] Some characters were criticized by reviewers; Paul Asay of Christian website Plugged In did not view Alex as a positive role model because of her rebellious nature, and the parents were described as foolish by Weiss.

[11][17] Ackerman found fault with the show's contradictory messages, saying there are never consequences for the Russo children abusing their magical powers; he felt that the characters seem to forget the lessons they learn and continue to make the same mistakes.

The lessons Jerry teaches about how to live life without magic were interpreted as pointless, as when the series ends, both Alex and Justin retain their abilities.

[55] The setting of Greenwich Village was also problematic for Ackerman, as he suggested that the Russos, a working-class family, would not be financially able to live in one of the most expensive New York neighborhoods.

[28][112] Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie aired on the network on August 28, 2009, and starred Gomez, Henrie, Austin, Stone, Canals-Barrera and DeLuise.

[115] Gomez, Austin, Stone, Canals-Barrera, DeLuise and Sulkin returned for the special which began filming in October in Los Angeles.

[115] The special depicts the Russo family traveling to Tuscany, Italy, to meet with relatives, before Alex accidentally casts a spell which creates a good and evil version of herself.

[119] Network executives considered adapting other series such as Hannah Montana, but ultimately found that Wizards resonated the best with test audiences.

[35] In August 2020, Henrie commented that all key actors were open to producing a revival of the series; he clarified that formal discussions with Disney had not yet occurred.