“Wizards of Waverly Place” was a four-season 2009 fantasy teen sitcom that aired on Disney Channel. The series centers on Alex Russo, played by Selena Gomez, a teenage wizard living on Waverly Place in the Greenwich Village section of New York City who undertakes training alongside her siblings, Justin and Max, who are also equipped with magical abilities. The siblings are trained knowing that one day they will compete to win sole custody of their family's powers.
With the imminent return of the Russo family in "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" and a new story that sees Alex asking her brother Justin for help with her new wizard apprentice, Billie, Disney Branded Television looked for a fun way to bridge the two series. Disney also wanted to engage the original "Wizards of Waverly Place" fan community with fun behind-the-scenes content that would give them a deeper look into the show they loved, while also reminding them of where the story left off.
Ahead of the Disney Channel premiere of "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place," Disney Branded Television decided to revisit the finale of "Wizards of Waverly Place" to catch viewers up on where the story left off. Disney wanted something bigger, more exciting, and more engaging than just playing that original episode, so it created something specifically for "Waverly" fans: a social behind-the-scenes commentary track of the "Wizards of Waverly Place" two-part finale episode with star David Henrie, who played Justin Russo in the original series and reprises the role in "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place."
The 13-part TikTok series breaks the finale down into bite-sized parts for fans to watch along with Henrie, who pops in to give commentary about the experience of creating the finale and the show while providing fascinating insights into the storytelling of "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" along the way.
The TikTok series took something as simple as watching the finale to catch up on the story and turned it into a special, one-of-a-kind social event that was both small enough to be shareable and big enough to be a major moment for the "Waverly" fan community. Disney provided something new to fans that rewarded them for their love and dedication to "Waverly" and gave them a fresh, fascinating look at a show they knew and loved – all while also encouraging them to check out the new "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" series and exciting them to spread the word about its arrival.
Disney's TikTok stunt returning to the finale of "Wizards of Waverly Place" had fans spellbound and was a massive success on social media. The series of TikTok videos on the Disney Channel TikTok account earned over 10 million total views and 675,000 total engagements. In particular, Part 12 of the series earned 6.4 million views on its own, as fans lean into the nostalgia of watching the finale originally for the first time.
The TikTok stunt also helped "Wizards Beyond Waverly Place" lead into a successful premiere, with the first episode driving 3.2 million views globally in the first 12 days of streaming – becoming Disney Channel’s most-watched series premiere ever on Disney+.
