Wizards of Waverly Place

The Wizards of Waverly Place gives viewers a look into the lives and loves of three teenaged wizard siblings and their often exasperated parents. Popular actor and singer Selena Gomez takes the lead in this comedy as mischievous Alex Russo, the middle child and only sister to Justin and Max Russo, played respectively by David Henrie and Jake T. Austin. The family lives in an apartment above the sub sandwich shop owned and operated by parents Theresa and Jerry Russo, as played by Maria Canals-Barrera and David DeLuise.

The wizard story line works its way into their lives in the form of a contest. As it turns out, there can be only one family wizard per generation, so in addition to sibling rivalries, these wizards-in-training are constantly competing to be the one chosen wizard-for-life. Jerry serves double duty as the dad educating his children in the ways of the human world and as a former wizard charged with teaching his children the magic of being a wizard. Theresa is the mom who just tries to keep her unusual family in line.

As is common with TV shows of this nature, the kids' wizard lives are secret, so magical powers must be hidden from friends and strangers in the human world. Only Alex' best friend, Harper, played by Jennifer Stone, knows the family secret. Other popular fantasy icons, like vampires, werewolves and ghosts, are often featured in the show when the main characters leave the human world to explore the magical realm of the wizards.

Through it all, Alex, Justin and Max learn about loyalty, fairness, responsibility and all of the traditional lessons of life. The theme may be magical, but the stories are relatable to teens as well as their parents.