‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’: David Henrie & Janice LeAnn Brown Tease Season 2 Cliffhanger & Return Of Beloved Characters

Wizards Beyond is a spinoff of the 2011 Disney Channel series, Wizards of Waverly Place, which focuses on the Russo family navigating a sandwich shop and being wizards. The spinoff focuses on Justin and his family who foster Billie, whom Alex trusted them with in Season 1 after the troubled wizard found herself without a family.

Now, Billie, along with Justin and Giada (Mimi Gianopulos)’s children, Roman (Alkaio Theile) and Milo (Max Matenko), have to navigate the mortal world while learning spells, and ultimately, preparing for the Family Wizard Tournament, all while trying to save Billie from the dark forces in the wizarding world.

Find out what the stars of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place had to say about Season 2 and beyond (no pun intended), and don’t forget to find out what happens in Season 2 on Disney+ tomorrow.

TVI: Season 2 comes out tomorrow on Disney+. 

David Henrie: Yes! Season 2 comes out tomorrow, the 8th. Very excited!

Janice, you were born after the first Wizards aired on Disney Channel. Did you grow up watching the series?

Janice LeAnn Brown: For sure! I watched it with my cousin, Maddie. She’s only a year older than me, but we flipping love the show. When I told her I got [the role], she was like, “What?! You’re lying!” So, it was such a crazy moment for me. I also loved watching the movie that went with the show. It was great. So, I would consider myself an OG Wizards of Waverly Place fan.

It must be kind of magical in a way, bringing it full circle. You love the show, watched the show, and now you’re costarring with Justin Russo. 

Brown: It’s crazy. It’s literally crazy to me. When I told my cousin, she didn’t believe me. I honestly didn’t believe it either. I feel like this is a lie, and maybe they were telling me, “Ok, this is another read.” I swear I did so many reads, but I’m so happy that I did.

Henrie: It was always you. There was no other choice, Janice. It was always you.

Brown: Thank you so much!

David, you direct this season. What was it like taking that step on a show and a universe that you have been a part of, and directing this time? 

Henrie: To me, it was very special because it was our Christmas episode. I think, fans, you’ll correct me, but I think this is the first time Wizards has ever done Christmas. So, it was a big deal for me to get to do the Christmas episode. I love this episode because Chloe Matthew wrote it, and it’s a really beautiful script. It has a lot of heart.

It speaks directly to anyone who has ever felt lonely on Christmas. One of the things that I love about [Janice’s] character is that she does not come from an established family. She is trying to find one and understand what that means. She provides this wonderful arc in this Christmas episode, where it’s like a found family arc, So, I’m excited for that.

I think it will speak right to the heart of anyone who is lonely on Christmas. I got to bring some of my single-camera sensibilities to the table. I’ve directed a film called Monster Summer. I was directing Mel Gibson, Kevin James. It’s one camera. It’s very different when you’re in a sitcom with four cameras. It’s like you’re shooting a moving play. So, I did some things that I’ve always wanted to do. I did a shot I’ve always wanted to do, which is the Spielberg push-pull. He did it in Jaws, and I’ve always wanted to do that shot.

There’s one moment in this episode where Janice has this big “What?” moment, and we did the shot. It worked so well for the show. We did a lot of things that added a little pizzazz to the episode that I’m excited for everyone to see. It’s a big episode.

Fans got to know Justin through the original series, and now we’re getting to know Billie even more, especially in the second season. We do know most of Justin’s backstory. Will we get more details about Billie’s backstory? 

Brown: For sure. We’ll definitely get into that. I won’t say you’ll know everything, but you’ll definitely know a big thing. There’s one thing that you guys are going to discover. We talk about it all the time. Grab your Kleenex.

Henrie: There’s going to be big news that’s going to make the headline. But then there’s going to be a second wave that comes, and it’s going to be this thing, this “easter egg” that we planted. And people are going to be like, “Wait, what is that? Huh? What does this say about Selena’s character in particular?” So, just know that we planted this prop that will be room for conversation about the big news comes out.

Brown: The lore is about to be crazy.

You talked about this “easter egg,” this lore exploring. Does this happen in the finale or before?

Henrie: You’re going to have to watch. The one that I’m referring to builds up to the finale, but if you don’t watch the rest of them, it doesn’t make sense. You need to get there.

Brown: We have little things that will add up to the finale, so it makes more sense. So, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. It’s all going to make sense.

In this day and age, there are so many reboots and spinoffs. Why do you think Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is really resonating with fans? 

Henrie: I think the timing was right. The past 10 years, we’ve seen a lot of disruption. Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, they were the only things you watched growing up. Kids had nothing else to do. You watched shows on those two networks, and that was literally it. That all changed over the past 10 years. There are other ways for people to consume content.

I feel like people have a craving for not only nostalgia, but just an old form of storytelling that’s represented as new. So, I think this show is getting a lot of love because I think people want those ever-changing family values in a sitcom. A sitcom will never die. It’s a problem and a solution. A chaotic problem and then an ending that always proves that we can overcome things.

There’s been so much disruption, but people crave the everlasting, and I think that speaks to this desire. So, the timing was right, and we are the kind of right show to answer that desire.

Brown: For sure!

Without giving too much away, Wizards was sort of known for big finales. What can you tease about the Season 2 finale? 

Henrie: This is right in line with as big as it gets. I think people appreciated in the original show that there were some sincere, heartfelt moments. There were moments where there was no laughter, but there was just heart and drama, and wonderful sibling moments. So, the end takes a big shot of that in the arm, and it goes there. Maybe it goes a little further than the original show did.

You’ll see. Selena and Janice, in particular, really bring Emmy-worthy performances. Mark my words. If we win an Emmy this season, it’s because these guys in the finale crushed it. All of the cast crushed it, but Selena and Janice brought the waterworks. It was impressive.

Brown: Scott Thomas wrote an amazing finale. When we got the script and read it as a cast, Alkaio looked over to me and was like, “Are you crying?” I was like, “Yeah. I’m crying.”

Henrie: Half the cast was crying.

Brown: It was so beautiful, and really hit home, and I’m really excited for the audience to see it.

What are your hopes for Season 3?

Henrie: When you discover the easter egg, you’re going to know that there’s something bigger that needs to be answered in question. So, I hope to explore the easter egg. This season ends in probably the most cliffhanger season we’ve had in Wizards history. People are going to want answers to the questions that we ask.

Selena has been with you from the very beginning. What has that been like navigating that, keeping that family element for almost 20 years now?

Henrie: It’s been a blessing. Getting to see a whole other side of Selena, getting to work with her in this professional capacity, outside of just acting with her, seeing her as a producer, has been wonderful.

She shows up to marketing meetings, and she’s got her notebook and her glasses, and she’s sitting in bed taking notes. There are 50 people on this call, and she’s listening to every word, and at the end of the call, she gives feedback, and then she gives ideas.

And this isn’t just like “I’m obligated to be on this call.” The fact is, she doesn’t need to be. She wants to be on the call, and she volunteers ideas that are really freaking good. I’m excited for people to see them. She’s all over it.

Back in the day, there were crossovers with Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. If you could, who would you love to have that crossover with? 

Brown: Lizzie McGuire! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It would be pretty cool to work with Hilary Duff. I like her vibes. She seems pretty cool. It would be a fun and comfy thing to watch.

Henrie: I would do a crossover with the movie Brink!. A Wizards/Brink! crossover with skateboarding and aggressive rollerskating. And Even Stevens would be in it as well for some reason. Like Shai Labeouf and I would have to team up for some crazy Brink! thing. And then out of nowhere it’s Halloweentown. I think that’s a great crossover.

I feel like Kimberly J. Brown would fit into the Wizards world. 

Henrie: 100%.

There are some beloved characters that have yet to make an appearance in the spinoff. Will fans get to see Max, Harper?

Henrie: I want everyone to come back. I absolutely want everyone to come back. I want them to come back in a story-driven way, though. I don’t want it to just be like “Hey, someone’s here.” And they’re waving hi and then bye. I want it to be linked to a story, and I think the way this cliffhanger season ends, and the way the easter egg is revealed, next season is the season for it.

And maybe we go to space and get Bridgit Mendler back.

Henrie: *laughs* We go to space and MIT and get Bridgit back. She’s pretty busy.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Season 2, streaming on Disney+, October 8

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