Chelsea Cheetham
Noughties Disney babies probably don’t need an excuse to re-watch Wizards of Waverly Place, but Wizards of Waverly Pod will have you binge watching the show for the umpteenth time regardless.
On the 1st February, hosts Jennifer Stone (who played Harper Finkle) and David DeLuise (who played Jerry Russo) teased a trailer for their lovingly named new podcast, Wizards of Waverly Pod .
It promised to share behind-the-scenes moments and cast and crew interviews, with the premise of re-watching every episode of the iconic Disney Channel hit series, Wizards of Waverly Place.
‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ TV Series
“Bewitching teen sitcom.”
Debuting on 12th October 2007, and running for a consecutive four seasons, this bewitching teen sitcom follows the escapades of the quick-witted Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) and her brothers Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin).
In a sub shop in New York, run by their mother Theresa (Maria Canals-Barrera), these teens are living a double life. They are partaking in magic lessons taught by their father, Jerry, in the restaurant’s cold-store cum wizard’s lair, whilst navigating the ups-and-downs of life in a regular high school.
In the series’ pilot episode, Crazy 10-Minute Sale, Jerry refuses to let Alex ditch wizards’ class to attend the biggest fashion sale of the year with her non-magic best friend Harper. Luckily for Alex, the latest spell on the wizarding curriculum — ‘Edgebono Utoosis’ (a play on ‘The Edge’, ‘Bono’, and ‘U2’) — grants her the ability to be in two places at once, but it doesn’t take long for her father to figure out something’s amiss.
Everything Is Not What It Seems
Despite being one of the most iconic Disney Dads, Jerry almost didn’t make the cut. Due to a struggle between DeLuise and Disney to negotiate a pay deal, DeLuise didn’t appear in the original pilot for a series which had plans to be titled The Amazing O’Malley’s . The show was pitched to be of a similar vein to Wizards, but with the family running a magic shop rather than a sub shop, and with Alex and Justin being twins.
“the off-screen relationship between the class is palpable”
As O’Malley’s inevitably transitioned into the Wizards we know and love, DeLuise appeared in the cast as the comedic Jerry and admits: “I did love being a Dad on the show”. The off-screen relationships between the cast are palpable and definitely translates into the father-daughter relationship between Stone and DeLuise that takes precedence during Wizards of Waverly Pod.
The flow of the podcast, and the comedic back-and-forth between the two hosts, lead into tid-bits that would pique the interest of hardcore Wizards’ fans, as well as those watching on Disney Plus for the first time.
What’s That? A Hat? Crazy, Funky, Junky Hat.
DeLuise reveals that the jacket he wears in the first episode of the podcast was acquired after filming of the pilot episode of Wizards. Disney originally wanted him to buy the clothes he wore on the show, but he admitted to “stealing” the jacket. Stone also admitted to taking home most of Harper’s clothes, after the head of the wardrobe department told her that Disney would only lock them away in a vault.
It’s no secret that the Disney girls of the noughties and early 2010s had a knack for flamboyant and quirky outfits, and Harper arguably had the most iconic outfits of this Disney era.
One such outfit Stone admitted to taking home was the infamous “marker dress” — which has been an inspiration for many a Halloween costume since its arrival on our screens.
Host Dynamics
“A great platform to relive some childhood memories with familiar faces from the cast.”
This introductory episode, really sets the tone for the direction of Wizards of Waverly Pod, and it is a great platform to relive some childhood memories with familiar faces from the cast. In the beginning of the episode, Stone explains that herself and DeLuise continued their friendship when filming of Wizards came to an end, and their familial bond is clear. They have a very strong dynamic and infectious energy which makes it impossible not to laugh along with them.
With 106 episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie to re-watch, fans can only hope that Stone and DeLuise will stick around for a while to share the magic in their new podcast.
Episode Two of Wizards of Waverly Pod is out now. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.
Featured image courtesy of Dollar Gill via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Chelsea Cheetham
Hi, my name's Chelsea. I'm 23 years old and am currently based in South Korea as an English Teacher. I recently graduated from The University of Sheffield with an MA in Journalism and run my own online magazine (Cherry Chu Magazine). I'm grateful for the opportunity to expand my portfolio here at Empoword Journalism. Happy reading!
excellent review Chelsea.