Wizards of Waverly Place was a hit Disney Channel show in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but like everything in the media, it sadly had to come to an end. With stars like Selena Gomez and Jake T. Austin and several other recognizable names coming in for guest or cameo roles, along with a unique story and plot, the show had a lot going for it. However, after four seasons and 106 episodes, the series finally came to a natural conclusion with no cancellations or cliffhangers.
While rumors come and go about a possible reboot or revival of the show, nothing has been officially confirmed. However, with its past popularity and Disney’s current knack for rebooting older shows and movies, it’s never that far off. For now, all we can do is sit back and reminisce about the series, or watch it on Disney+ in our spare time when our nostalgia overtakes us. However, if you’ve ever wished there was more, or wondered why it ended, the answer is actually quite simple.
How Wizards of Waverly Place ended
If you don’t remember how Wizards of Waverly Place ended or never managed to finish the series, we were lucky enough to see the show through to the end of the story instead of it being canceled and left with a cliffhanger. It was revealed that despite the siblings all growing up with magic, only one of them would be able to inherit the family magic and keep their powers as they move on with their lives. This resulted in an hour-long finale episode, where each of the siblings battled it out through a series of challenges to see who would win.
After a disqualification causes them to lose their powers for a week, they slowly come to realize that they can no longer use magic and work together as a family to try and be normal. Once they reconcile, it is revealed that this was the real test all along, and the competition continues. As Justin wins the competition, he knows he couldn’t have won without Alex’s help, so he lets her win the family powers. Still, the headmaster of the wizarding school reveals that he is stepping down and offers Justin the position, regaining the authority to do so. Although Max was sadly left in the dust without his magic, he got to inherit the restaurant, ensuring a meaningful end for all three siblings.
The actors grew up
What makes a lot of this live-action teen shows so relatable and popular is that they cast actors appropriate for their age. If you’re a teen watching another teen in these situations, watching them grow with the seasons feels more realistic. Of course, that also means they can’t be on that show forever. Something like Supernatural, which ran for 15 seasons, was able to run for so long because the actors were adults and not in a coming-of-age story. If Wizards of Waverly Place walked that long, and everyone was still in high school, well, it would be pretty hard to believe the story.
Not only did they age out of these roles, they were ready to move on in their careers. For many of the younger actors, this show was their breakout role. This meant that they had just entered the public eye and many opportunities were on their way. Take Selena Gomez for example. After she left, she continued acting and pursued a very popular and active music career. Jake T. Austin went and played along The foster parents even after the show ended. And when they didn’t keep acting as much, they still got into other things like David Henrie starting a family and starting to work more behind the camera on movies. While the show was sure to remain popular however long it ran, it had to come to an end for the actors to move on with their lives.
The series ran its course
Even if the actor’s age wasn’t an issue, the show still had four seasons, which was more than enough time to tell its intended story. The themes in this show were magic and family, meaning that every episode had something to do with each other. However, you can only keep imagining different scenarios and problems that the protagonists run into before it starts to get repetitive, though. This meant that the show eventually had to end, regardless of its popularity. It was better to end well than to let it go until people got frustrated with it and decided they didn’t like it anymore.
Of course, having a movie and a special spin-off means there was just a little bit more to build on in the world they created, which they couldn’t quite achieve in the TV show format. Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie aired between seasons 2 and 3, featuring a story of a failed summer vacation as Alex and her magic almost made it so that their parents never met, meaning she and her siblings would never exist either.
Then, a year after the series ended, The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex was released. Set a few years after the season finale, it shows that Alex has never really changed, and she struggles with the judgment she’s given for it. So while they had a bit more story to tell, the show never stayed welcome for too long and instead brought us a nice, well-rounded story to enjoy.