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EXCLUSIVE: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place has cast a spell on the kids.
The sequel series is off to a promising start, with the first episode driving 3.2M views globally in the first 12 days of streaming to become Disney Channel‘s most-watched series premiere ever on Disney+, according to the Walt Disney Company. Like Netflix, Disney defines views as total stream time divided by runtime.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place has reintroduced the magic of the Russo family to a new generation, resonating with audiences across platforms,” Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television, said in a statement. “Its standout debut reflects the enduring appeal and relevance of this beloved franchise – and the creativity and talent driving this new chapter.”
Particularly, the series did great among the younger crowd, as expected. It was the top streaming series in the U.S. among Kids 6-11, Girls 6-11, Teens, and Adults 18-24 based on the first five days of availability, per data from Nielsen.
More data will be available from Nielsen in the coming weeks when the company releases its own streaming report from the week Wizards Beyond Waverly Place debuted. That will provide some more context and also give better perspective on how the series is faring in the broader streaming landscape.
The first eight episodes debuted simultaneously on Disney+, one day after the first episode aired on Disney Channel. Episodes will continue to air weekly on the linear network, though it’s likely that the Disney+ audience will comprise the majority of viewership on this one, considering younger audiences gravitate heavily toward streaming.
Disney also placed the entire first episode on YouTube in hopes of reaching that younger demo, which seems to have worked out well as it has generated 1.1M views to-date on that platform alone. Based on the first seven days, it’s Disney Channel’s best performance for a new full episode on YouTube since 2017.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place seems to be quite buzzy on social media as well, generating more than 125M total impressions and 13M engagements across the show handles, as well as the Disney Channel and Disney+ accounts, on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook as of November 11.
In another move to engage young audiences — and showcase the enduring popularity of the original series — Disney released the finale of Wizards of Waverly Place on TikTok on October 29, where it has tallied nearly 11M views.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place follows an adult Justin Russo, who has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada, Roman and Milo. When Justin’s sister Alex brings Billie to his home seeking help, Justin realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities — and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World.
Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas serve as writers and executive producers, along with executive producers Gary Marsh, Jonas Agin, Gomez and Henrie. Andy Fickman directed and executive-produced the pilot and will direct multiple episodes. Wizards of Waverly Place was created by Todd Greenwald.
Deadline has a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place here.
