Selena Gomez on returning to ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’: “Felt like I was home”

Selena Gomez is reflecting on returning to the world of Wizards of Waverly Place for the upcoming spin-off series coming to Disney Channel.

“It felt like I was home again,” Selena told Variety. “I’m so happy I got to bring back this childhood gift that I was given to new little ones out there.”

The pop star is reprising her starring role as Alex Russo in the premiere episode of the new sitcom, titled Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. She also serves as a producer on the series. While she’s not sure how the new show will do, she hopes for multiple seasons.

“We don’t know, but if people like it, we’ll see,” Selena said.

David Henrie, who played Justin Russo on the original series and reprises the role in the spin-off show, says Wizards Beyond Waverly Place took years of development to get right.

“Selena and I and my wife spent so much time over the years drinking wine and talking about where the characters would be, we looked at each other at one point and said, ‘I think we have a show. I think we should go talk to Disney about this.’ And we did. It took years of development to get it exactly where it needed to be,” David said.

He continued by saying the new show was built from a place of love.

“The number one thing Selena gets asked about even till today is Wizards,” David said. “It’s a show that meant a lot to a lot of people.”