More Wizards of Waverly Place on Order

BURBANK: Disney Channel has ordered a third season of the hit comedy Wizards of Waverly Place, which is also set for a movie adaptation that will premiere in August. 

Wizards of Waverly Place is TV’s number one program in its time period this year. It stars tween sensation Selena Gomez, alongside David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone, Maria Canals-Barrera and David DeLuise. In the third season, Alex’s best friend, Harper, moves in with the Russos. New episodes air Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. on Disney Channel.

In Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, the Russo family heads out on a vacation to the Caribbean resort where Jerry and Theresa first met. Alex upset that she must accompany her family on the trip and conjures a spell that reverses her parents’ fateful first meeting and puts the Russo family’s existence in question. The movie was written by Dan Berendsen (Hannah Montana: The Movie) and directed by Lev L. Spiro (Ugly Betty, Minutemen).