Promotional Image // Disney
By: Sam Simons
Media Writer
Everything is not what it seems, as we can declare the pop culture world is in a state of emergency with an increasing outbreak of reboots, sequels and adaptations. The most recent case is the “Wizards of Waverly Place” reboot, which is now “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.” Magically, it seems that many childhood shows are being rebooted, which has either annoyed or excited audiences. Either way, let’s see what a grown adult has to say about a reboot of a children’s show.
First, to break things down, the formula to create a reboot is that after the original series had its happy ending, it returns with a new conflict. In the case of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” the show is set 15 years after the original show ended, making the original characters older with new responsibilities.
Now the show features the character Justin Russo, played by David Henrie, as the protagonist, instead of Selena Gomez’s fan-favorite character Alex Russo. In the original series, Alex was the main girl, but now she and some other original characters are merely guest stars.
The line between a reboot and an entirely new show can be a bit blurred, especially when a reboot has barely any of the original characters. We can call this the “Grey’s Anatomy Effect,” as the show “Grey’s Anatomy” is still running new episodes, even though the titular character Meredith Grey isn’t even in it anymore. At this point, it’s just “Anatomy”, and who wants to watch that?
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” it is still fresh, and it’s nowhere near the status of the “Grey’s Anatomy Effect,” but can it stay afloat as a reboot? There have been many variations of reboots that have ended up making things worse for the characters we fell in love with in their original series. As a result, the show was cut short or went on for way too long. Overall, this leads us to wonder: why are production companies essentially ruining classic shows by rebooting them?
Just like some people are scared to challenge themselves in school because they could get a bad grade, it seems like screenwriters for these shows are scared of the challenge of creating an original idea in fear that audiences won’t like it. Therefore, they stick with what works and just keep making reboots, sequels and adaptations.
The same issue occurs even in casting. Specifically, in the world of biopics and adaptations, people love to get creative with envisioning who should be the live-action Rapunzel or play Britney Spears in a biopic, but it’s never a new face. Is auditioning for roles a thing in the past now? Look at Timothée Chalamet, with allegations that he hasn’t had to audition for a role in seven years.
Let’s gentle parent this situation; it’s not an unhealthy thing to have reboots, sequels or adaptations. In fact, they can be really fun, and make people feel good – which is what these projects should do! Yet, when there are so many different reboots, sequels and adaptations in the works, it gets stale. At the least, production companies should stagger the releases of these types of shows.
While it might feel like the “Wizards” reboot has corrupted your childhood memories, one thing we can take away from this is to not be afraid to try something new! Even if big shots in the entertainment industry are scared to branch out, that doesn’t mean we have to be. This can even be a small thing, like saying hi to a classmate outside of class. You don’t need magic powers like the Russo family to challenge your comfort zone.