Sartaj Singh
Created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas as a sequel to ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,’ ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ reintroduces Justin and Alex Russo as they guide a new generation of wizards, including the powerful and rebellious Billie. While Justin seeks to live a normal life away from teaching magic, he is pulled back into the wizarding world by his sister, Alex Russo, who asks him to take Billie under his wing. The show follows Billie’s days as a wizard in training under Justin and her hijinks-packed adventures around his home, the lair, and her school. The Disney sitcom transports us back to many settings from the original show while creating its own vibrant style steeped in nostalgia.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ largely takes place in a movie studio located in Santa Clarita, California. The pilot episode for the series was shot within a month in January 2024. Principal photography for the rest of the series began under the working title ‘Wizards’ in April of the same year. The taping is carried out in front of a live studio audience, and the series is one of the first Disney productions to do so since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santa Clarita, California
Situated in northern Los Angeles County, Santa Clarita is the primary filming location for ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.’ The episodes are taped in the LA North Studios – The Vista, which is located at 28525 Witherspoon Parkway, Valencia. Most of the sets seen on the show are created using Stage 16 of LA North Studios, which spans 21,787 square feet. LA North Studios — The Vista completed construction in the second quarter of 2022, and its sound stage presents a brand-new environment for the team behind ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ to work in. Compared to Stage 16, Stage 15 is marginally smaller, and both are supported by two floors of office space and a 6,632 square-foot mill space for the creation of artwork and props.
The wizards’ lair room was recreated with painstaking work from the production team, sourcing props and decor that matched the original. In some cases, the actual props from the show were found and brought back, like the central sofas and chairs in the lair where David Henrie and Selena Gomez also used to nap during breaks while shooting ‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’ “This was built exactly to spec and they even found some of the original furniture from the original show in prop houses all over LA,” revealed Henrie in a set tour video. “The first time that I walked in here, I hadn’t been here since I was 21. I’m 35 now… It’s kind of like if you were to go into your childhood bedroom untouched, all these feelings hit you, and you don’t know what to make of it.”
The school attended by the children in the series is named Greenwald Middle School, in homage to Todd J. Greenwald, the creator of the original show. The production team has paid incredible attention to detail, and each locker has its own unique props inside, simulating a realistic school environment. The appliances seen on set, like the double-door fridge, are real but remain powered off to mitigate the mechanical noise made by them.
The kitchen set is arranged so characters face the camera while performing any activities, from cooking to grabbing a snack. The set also takes inspiration from the original show’s design while incorporating newer and more modern elements as well. “We already knew the age of the house, so we wanted to have some of the old kitchens and then the Russos, the young family; I also wanted to reflect that,” said production designer Glenda Rovello in the aforementioned tour.
The LA North Studios has five campuses totaling 16 soundstages in Santa Clarita, with The Vista being the newest among them. The other LA North Studios locations include Tibbitts, The View, The Ranch, and Rockefeller. These have hosted the filming of movies and shows like ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ ‘Emancipation,’ ‘Wolfs,’ starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, ‘Snake Eyes,’ an installment of the ‘G.I. Joe’ franchise, ‘Love Is Blind,’ and Amazon Prime’s ‘Expats.’
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