Every Witch Way

Every Witch Way
Genre	Telenovela Teen comedy Contemporary fantasy Teen drama
Created by	Mariela Romero Catharina Ledeboer
Starring	Paola Andino Nick Merico Paris Smith Rahart Adams Elizabeth Elias Daniela Nieves Tyler Alvarez Autumn Wendel Denisea Wilson Zoey Burger
Opening theme	"Every Witch Way"
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	86 + 1 special (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	José Vicente Scheuren Alicia Ávila Tatiana Rodríguez
Camera setup	Videotape Single-camera
Running time	22–23 minutes
Production company(s)	Cinemat
Distributor	Nickelodeon
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	January 1, 2014 (2014-01-01) – July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30)
Chronology
Related shows	Grachi WITS Academy Talia in the Kitchen
External links
Official website

Every Witch Way is an American telenovela-formatted teen sitcom that originally aired on Nickelodeon from January 1, 2014, to July 30, 2015. It is the American version of the Nickelodeon Latin American show Grachi.

The first season aired as a "One Month Event", where the first 20-episode season aired every weeknight in January 2014. On March 13, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that they had commissioned a second season of Every Witch Way, that aired from July 7 to August 8. On July 31, 2014, Nickelodeon renewed the show for a third season, which premiered on January 5, 2015. On February 25, 2015, Nickelodeon renewed the show for a fourth season and announced a spin-off titled WITS Academy. It was announced on June 1, 2015, that the fourth season would be the final season. The series finale aired on July 30, 2015, with WITS Academy confirming to air in fall 2015 right after. WITS Academy officially premiered on October 5, 2015.

Plot

Season 1

Emma Alonso moves with her father Francisco to the suburbs of Miami, Florida, where she attends Iridium High. She later learns that she is a witch, and is also the "Chosen One", having great powers and abilities of her generation. Emma barely makes it through the school year with the help of Lily, the school nurse who is Emma's guardian, Andi Cruz, her best friend, Daniel Miller, a mutual crush, and the rest of the Sharks, Iridium High's swim team. There are obstacles along the way, too, including Maddie Van Pelt, the leader of the Panthers, a trio of the school's most popular girls, who is a newly profound witch and Daniel's ex-girlfriend, and the principal, Miss Torres: she is a 400-year-old witch and the old Chosen One, too, but she's malicious. During the upcoming eclipse, she plans on taking Emma's powers, but fails after Maddie and Emma join forces, despite their differences, and send her away using a spell from the Hexoren, a book of spells that Emma inherited from her late mother. At the end of the season, Daniel and Emma become a couple; also, after defeating the principal, both witches think they lost their powers, but in reality, Emma still has them, and she keeps this a secret from Daniel in season 2.

Season 2

It's a new year at Iridium High. The Witches' Council, the head of the magic realm has come to tell Emma that she cannot date Daniel because he is a human and witches and humans cannot date; the only way she can date him is to give up her powers and become human, as her mother did to be with Francisco. But because of her title as the "Chosen One," Emma cannot do that, and at the same time, she doesn't want to go in the other direction. Maddie, who lost her powers at the end of the first season, refuses to accept this, so Sophie and Katie, the other Panthers, try to make her believe that she still has her powers with the help of Diego, a Churi Kanay (someone who has powers over the elements). The only reason Diego does this is because he hopes that she will notice him more. The truth is that Maddie's mother, Ursula, received her powers and is using them in attempt to make Francisco fall in love with her. Eventually, Maddie gets her powers back in the middle of the season and feels happy. During the season, Maddie and Diego realize that they have feelings for each other. In the season 2 finale, Diego gets Maddie out of a black hole and they kiss. After that, they start dating.

Jax Novoa, an exchange student from Sydney, Australia, arrives at Iridium High and becomes the school's new heartthrob. Francisco has been promoted to the position as new principal and assigns Emma to help show Jax around. While doing so, she has no suspicions that he is a wizard, but she soon learns it later. Andi and Daniel are suspicious of him, but Jax, who has a mysterious past, shuts everyone out and starts to have feelings for Emma. While almost everyone is blinded by his bad side, Emma sees his vulnerable side, too, and she slowly starts to fall for him. Then there's the Fool Moon, a moon that occurs every twenty years and causes witches and wizards' powers to act oddly. The Fool Moon affects Desdemona, one member of the Witches' Council, who becomes evil and plans to take Emma's powers; also, Jax and E (Emma's evil clone who was made after Jax showed Emma a new cloning spell), plan to do so, but E is defeated before she could. At the end of season two, Jax reforms, and he, Daniel, and Emma get along.

Season 3

Summer is almost over for the Iridium High students. Emma is working as a waitress at the Beachside Seven, the gang's new hangout spot, while Daniel works as a life guard there as well. Andi is determined to prove herself to the Council and become a guardian, Jax is sent to Rebel Boot Camp, and Maddie and Diego try to fix the relationship between witches and kanays, who warred with each other in the past. A new girl named Mia Black moves to Miami to take revenge on all witches because Principal Torres killed her parents. Mia, who is a kanay like Diego, plans to destroy Emma and Maddie with the help of the Cristal de Caballero, a sacred gem of the Kanays used to makes a witches' power go haywire. Not only does Emma have to stop Mia, she also has to choose who she wants to be with: Daniel or Jax. At the end of the season finale, Emma chooses Jax.

Season 4

Emma's decision to be with Jax triggers a Continuum Break on Daniel, where he shifts into a different life in the Everglades, and everyone except for Emma forgets who he is. Emma and the gang travel to the Everglades to take Daniel back to Miami to restore his memory, but Emma's explanation of the Continuum Break limits the time to have his memory restored to only five days, or else he'll disappear from existence forever, and Emma will not remember him as well. In the crossover with Talia in the Kitchen, Talia Parra's magic spices gave Daniel some of his memory back (only up until the day he and Emma met), but a kiss with Emma finally ends the Countinuum Break, giving his entire memory back. However, in the finale, Emma realizes how Daniel misses his other life in the Everglades and triggers the Continuum Break again to make him happy.

Also in the season, Emma starts to miss her mom and wants her back, so she searches for a time manipulation spell so she can go back in time to save her mom. She steals the powers of other witches (the Council, Maddie, the Principal, and E), while also becoming more reckless with her powers and causing her friends to become mad at her. Eventually in the finale, she realizes her error and gives Maddie and the Council their powers back and changes her mind about traveling back in time.

Meanwhile, Jax's father, Jake, arrives at his home. This leads Jax to soon learn more about his family, as he meets his powerless long-lost sister, Jessie, who soon reveals that his mom, Liana, isn't dead. Jax believed that Jake was evil, but near the end of season 4, it is revealed that Liana is the actual bad witch. In the series finale, Jessie finally gets her powers, and with her help, Emma, Andi and Jax finally defeat Liana, who gets sucked through the portal into Limbo.

At the end of the finale. Emma and Andi visit the Novoas, with Jake saying that Jessie, now that she has her powers, will soon be attending the WITS Academy to learn how to use them. Then, after they see Daniel one last time in the Everglades, Emma announces that Andi will attend the W.I.T.s Academy as well to train to finally become a guardian. Andi packs (with Emma giving her the Hex), they arrive at school, and the series ends with Andi leaving through the portal for the Academy, leading up to the Every Witch Way spin-off series.

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Emma Alonso (Paola Andino)
  A new student at Iridium High, Emma is the main character of the series, and also a witch. She's the Chosen One, the most powerful witch, and her guardian is Lily, the school nurse. Her best friend is Andi, who wants to be her guardian one day. In season 3, she is a waitress at the Beachside Seven and becomes more independent with her powers. In the season 3 finale, she has to decide who to be with: Jax or Daniel, but she chooses Jax over Daniel, which triggers a Continuum Break on Daniel in season 4. During the Break, Emma is the only one to remember Daniel, and she tries to restore his memory, but triggers the Break again in the series finale to make him happy. Emma also wanted to turn back time in season 4 to bring back her mom. Emma is still dating Jax at the end of the series. Emma was last seen after Andi left for the academy in the Season 4 Series Finale.
• Daniel Miller (Nick Merico)
  An athletic student at Iridium High and former- member of the Sharks. At the beginning he has had a constant on-and-off relationship with Maddie Van Pelt despite holding an interest in Emma. Eventually he fully breaks up with Maddie and begins to date Emma. He is also a human, not a wizard, thus making the Witch's Council pressure Emma into breaking up with him in season 2. He has a rivalry with Jax over Emma. In season 3, he is a lifeguard at the Beachside Seven, and soon gets Mia as his partner. This leads to her sending a spider bite him, making his 'inner wild' come out. Later, Mia removes the spider from Daniel because it made him very sick. At the end of season 3, Emma chooses Jax over Daniel, making a Continuum Break shift Daniel into another life in a sanctuary by the Everglades. Emma tries to restore his memory, but sends him back in the series finale to make him happy.
• Maddie Van Pelt (Paris Smith)
  A witch who is the school's most popular student and head of a best friend group called The Panthers. She hated Emma in season 1 because she stole Daniel from her, but they become friends after everything they went through and because she soon develops feelings for Diego, who she ends up dating. She is the most fashionable girl at Iridium. She can come off as mean, but has a soft side and really cares about her friends and family.
• Andi Cruz (Daniela Nieves)
  Emma's best friend, a tomboy who is a member of the Sharks. Other than Emma, Emma's magical flying spell book, the Hexoren, is as well her best friend, often babysitting him and bringing him to school and even the beach. She is great with tools and stands as one of the few able to block spells (using various devices of her creation). She also starts to become friends with Jax. In season 2, her virtual zombie boyfriend, Philip, comes out of the Zombie Apocalypse game; by season 3, he returns again and stays for good. She is the only human known that can understand the Hexoren. At the end of the series, Andi sets off to train to become a guardian at the WITS Academy.
• Jax Novoa (Rahart Adams)
  A new student in season 2, who is a member of the Sharks and a rebel wizard who is impulsive with his powers, using them for his own interests in season 2. In season 2, he uses Emma to gain magic energy and take over the realm. She soon breaks up with him after Daniel shared a kiss with her. However, in season 3 and 4 he starts to use his powers not only for himself, but for other people. In season 3 Emma has to make a tough decision over who to be with: Jax or Daniel. She chooses Jax and they stay together for all of season 4 happily. In season 4, Jax's world is turned upside down when he meets his long lost sister Jessie and she reveals that his mother isn't dead. When he figures out she is an evil witch trying to steal Emma's powers and take over the realm with him and Jessie, he remains loyal to Emma and gets Liana transported to Limbo. Limbo is a place where bad witches go and their bad souls are with them.
• Diego Rueda (Tyler Alvarez)
  Gigi's twin brother and Sharks member. He thought he was the last of the Churi Kanay (meaning "Son of Fire", who can control the elements), until Mia, a rebel Kanay, comes to Miami. His family owns The Seven, as well as the Beachside 7, and he is seen often working there. In season 2, he has in interest in Maddie, but Ursula does not approve, so he tries to impress Maddie in every way that he can. In season 3, Diego and Maddie are a couple, and they try to fix the bond between witches and Kanays. In season 4, Ursula starts liking Diego when he saves the Van Pelt Reunion from Jake.
• Mia Black (Elizabeth Elias)
  A new girl in season 3. She is a rebel Kanay who wants all witches to be destroyed because one of them, who happens to be the Principal, killed her parents. Unlike Diego, she has been raised as Kanay since her birth so she wields her powers with a much greater ease and skill than Diego. She starts to actually fall for Daniel along the way through her scheme. Mia has a spider Kanay mark on her arm, which causes the persons 'inner wild' to come out. Mia also had the Cristal de Caballero, a magical crystal that belonged to her father. Like Jax in season 2, Mia changed after bonding with Emma in the Zombie Apocalypse video game they got trapped in during the season 3 finale. In season 4, the Continuum Break affects Mia as well, and she is Daniel's girlfriend in his other life in the Everglades.
• Katie Rice (Denisea Wilson)
  Member of the Panthers and one of Maddie's best friends. She wants to be the head Panther. Even though she acts popular, she is actually smart, and as well happens to have a 'geek side' where she would often refer to different fantasy and anime shows or games and LARPing. In season 3, Katie leaves the Panthers and becomes friend with Mia, although it was revealed she only did so to get information out of her.
• Sophie Johnson (Autumn Wendel)
  Member of the Panthers and another one of Maddie's best friends. She is a little dimwitted and very gullible. Other than Emma (and now Andi), she is one of the only characters to tolerate Jax.
• Gigi Rueda (Zoey Burger)
  Diego's twin sister, school news reporter known as "Miss Information". In season 2, because of a spell, Gigi becomes Desdemona's minion, but is freed by Jax and E (Evil Emma) later on. In season 3, she is a waitress at the Beachside Seven, but blogs more than works. She is kept out of the loop of the magic going around in Miami, even after finding out, quickly having her memory erased by Maddie, several times. She had a small crush on Jax when he first came to the school. Since Daniel (Mia in disguise) treated her nicely, she had a big crush on him as well.

Recurring characters

• Lily Archer (Melissa Carcache)
  The school's nurse and Emma's guardian witch, she is powerless and depends on a magic kit. She becomes a member of the Witches' Council in season 2. In season 3, when Jax graduated from Rebels Boot Camp, it seemed that his father was no longer qualified to be his guardian, so Lily was assigned to him.
• Robert Miller (Louis Tomeo)
  Daniel's brother who is the oldest and leader of the Terrible 3 (T3) and their best inventor.
• Melanie Miller (Jackie Frazey)
  Daniel's sister who is the middle child and only girl of the Terrible 3 as well as the smartest. She wasn't seen in Season 4.
• Tommy Miller (Jason Drucker)
  Daniel's brother who is the youngest of the Terrible 3 and most hyperactive.
• Ursula Van Pelt (Katie Barberi)
  Maddie's mother who holds feelings for Francisco. In season 2, Maddie's powers lands on her, and she uses them to make Francisco fall in love with her, though they finally kiss in the series finale. Ursula doesn't like Diego because he is a Kanay, and doesn't accept him and Maddie dating; however, she finally accepts Diego when he saves the Van Pelt family reunion from Jake. Ursula also wants to prove herself as a hero to the Council. Ursula is head of the Van Pelt Coven. In season 3, she adopts Philip.
• Francisco Alonso (Rene Lavan)
  Emma's father; he becomes Iridium High's principal in season 2 due to former Principal Torres's defeat in the first season. He doesn't like Daniel at all. He does not know that Emma is a witch, though his wife was one. Francisco also has a hard time talking about his wife with Emma. He and Ursula kiss in the season 4 finale: although shown to not have feelings for her, he makes it clear that he does when he returns the kiss.
• Desdemona (Mia Matthews)
  Desdemona is a member of the Witches Council and Emma's new Guardian in season 2 while Lily is in training. In the season, the Fool Moon turns her evil, having her bent on destroying the magic world, but she is changed back to normal by the last light. She does not approve of Emma dating Daniel at first. She is the smartest of the Council.
• Agamemnon (Todd Allen Durkin)
  Leader of the Witches' Council, he is the only wizard in the Council, and the supervisor of Rebels Boot Camp in season 3. He has a grand disliking for Jax. In season 4, he and the rest of the Council become powerless because Emma steals their powers, but they get them back in the finale. He becomes the headmaster of the WITs Academy in the spin-off with the same name.
• Christine Miller (Whitney Goin)
  Daniel's mother.
• Jake Novoa (Richard Lawrence-O'Bryan)
  Jax's father, he is a charming yet dangerous wizard who is obsessed with power. He seems evil, but he's just looking out for his kids. He is first introduced in season 2 when Jax is video chatting Jake. In season 4, Jake comes to Miami.
• Jessie Novoa (Julia Antonelli)
  Jax's long-lost younger sister who is introduced in season 4. Jessie didn't have powers at the beginning, but she finally gets them in the series finale, thus leading her to attend the WITs Academy to learn how to use them.
• Liana Woods/Novoa (Betty Monroe)
  Jax and Jessie's mother that was supposedly dead. She says that Jake is bad, but she has a secret of her own. Jake soon reveals that Liana is a witch. Liana was first introduced in season 2 when Jax was talking about her.
• Philip Van Pelt (Liam Obergfoll)
  Andi's zombie boyfriend from a video game she hacked. He appeared in season 2, but was sent back because he was dangerous. He can understand what the Hexoren is saying, although not many people do. By season 3, he returns and Ursula adopts him, making him a Van Pelt. He is also turned into a human boy by Emma. He was only shown once in season 4 due to the actor playing Tyson Fucinelli on Talia in the Kitchen.
• Oscar (Ethan Estrada)
  Diego and Gigi's cousin. A new character on season 3. Member of the H2O, a new group similar to the Terrible 3, he and his brother Hector had the T3 framed many times for doing their (the H2O's) pranks, but they were pranked in the season 3 finale.
• Hector (Nicolás James)
  Diego and Gigi's cousin. Oscar's younger brother and member of the H2O, a new group similar to the Terrible 3, he and his brother Oscar had the T3 framed many times for doing their (the H2O's) pranks, but they were pranked in the season 3 finale.
• Sebastian (Demetrius Daniels)
  Gigi's cameraman. In the season 2 finale, Jax turns him into a mouse when he went to the school to get a book from his locker. In season 3, Daniel gives Mia his locker and it is unknown if he ever got it back. Gigi once started a rumor about him dating Heather B, and later revealed that he has a girlfriend in season 4. Sebastian is shown to be very kind, as when Emma took his earbuds and phone in a panic, he allowed her with no questions asked.
• Evil Emma "E" (Paola Andino)
  Emma's evil and rebellious clone. She was Jax's girlfriend and tricked him so he could help her destroy the magic realm and become the only witch alive, but Jax betrayed her and the real Emma shoved her and got her stuck in the portal to Limbo. When the Principal was brought back by Emma in the series finale, E followed along, returning as well. As a Chosen One clone, she has as much power as her creator. Tougher than the other Emma's clones, Emma had to fuse with her in Season 4 finale to prevent her to come back.
• Principal Torres (Michele Verdi)
  The principal of Iridium High in season 1 and main antagonist who wanted the Chosen One's powers, but was dispatched in that season's finale. She is seen in a flashback in season 3 when she destroyed the Cristal de Cabarello and killed Mia's parents. A former Chosen One, she is the only character known to have killed other characters. She returns in season 4 so Emma can take her powers away.
• The Hexoren (no voice)
  A sentient book of spells, nicknamed "Hex". He can fly, open up to a specific page on command, and somewhat communicate. Hex was first of the mother of Emma, but since she is dead Emma has the book. Hex is best friends with Andi, although he belongs to Emma, and in the series finale, Emma gives Andi the book to take with her to the WITs Academy, and there the friendship is continued between Andi and Hex

Former characters

• Tony Myers (Kendall Ryan Sanders)
  A mathlete, amateur magician, and member of the Sharks, had a crush on Emma. He did not return for the second season because he is attending a "magic academy".
• Mac Davis (Mavrick Moreno)
  Member of the Sharks and Diego's best friend who doesn't shower. He did not return for the second season due to moving to Texas.
• Coach Julio (Rafael de La Fuente)
  Adopted son of the Principal and the coach of the Sharks, who is revealed to be a frog turned into a human.
• Rick Miller (Jimmie Bernal)
  Daniel's father. He left after season 1.
• Ramona (Lisa Corrao)
  Third member of the Witches' Council, she is held in Limbo by Desdemona until the end of the second season, when she is freed by Maddie and Diego. She did not return in season 3.

Episodes

Main article: List of Every Witch Way episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired (U.S. dates)
			First aired	Last aired
	1	21	January 1, 2014 (2014-01-01)	January 30, 2014 (2014-01-30)
	2	24	July 7, 2014 (2014-07-07)	August 8, 2014 (2014-08-08)
	Special		November 26, 2014
	3	20	January 5, 2015 (2015-01-05)	January 30, 2015 (2015-01-30)
	4	20	July 6, 2015 (2015-07-06)	July 30, 2015 (2015-07-30)

Reception

The premiere episode had an estimated 2.10 million viewers. The second episode drew 2.86 million viewers, giving a large increase in audience.

After a few episodes, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show 2 stars, saying that Every Witch Way "devotes too much time and energy to Maddie's superficiality and spite to be considered a likable choice for this impressionable age group. And since none of Maddie's actions ever land her in hot water she can't work a spell to escape, kids never see her learn a lesson." She also notes it "suffers from some subpar acting and a low-budget look and feel, and the absence of even a laugh track", leaving it "unusually flat for a tween sitcom. And without the bells and whistles kids tend to like in their entertainment, there's nothing to distract them from the excessive superficiality and pettiness that plague many of the central characters". The season one finale on January 30, 2014 had 2.60 million viewers, while the first season had a total average of 2.166 million viewers, and a top rating for the 4-11 demographic.

The season 2 episodes drew numerous viewers, however, its eighth episode, drew 1.71 million viewers, The one-hour season two finale on August 8, 2014 had 1.70 million viewers, giving the second season a total average of 1.696 million viewers. The Spellbound special, which premiered on November 26, 2014 had 1.58 million viewers, earning a top rating in season 2 for the 18-49 demographic.

The season 3 premiere had 1.66 million viewers. The second episode of season 3 had 1.54 million viewers, causing a small drop until the third episode, which drew 1.56 million viewers. The season 3 finale drew 1.71 million viewers.

Season 4 premiered with 1.50 million viewers. The crossover with Talia in the Kitchen drew 1.16 million viewers during its first half. The 14th episode had 0.96 million viewers, an unusually small audience. The series finale on July 30, 2015 had 1.64 million viewers.

Broadcast

Every Witch Way premiered on July 7, 2014, on YTV in Canada and on July 14, 2014, on Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Australia, the series debuted on August 4, 2014, on Nickelodeon. The second season premiered on February 9, 2015. The first series also started broadcast on Irish channel RTÉ 2 in April 2015.

Spin-off

On February 25, 2015, Nickelodeon announced a spin-off titled WITS Academy. It is a daily strip about the comedic adventures of witches- and wizards-in-training, and it premiered on October 5, 2015, ending on October 30, 2015. It was announced by Daniella Nieves that the show was not renewed for a second season, thus making the season 1 finale it's series finale. The series is created by Catharina Ledeboer, produced by Viacom International, and executive produced by Tatiana Rodriguez.

DVD releases

Season	Release dates
	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
1	June 13, 2014	TBA	TBA
2	January 7, 2015	TBA	TBA

Awards and nominations

Year			Nominated/Receiver	Result
2014	Imagen Awards	Best Children's Programming		Nominated
		Best Young Actress/Television	Paola Andino	Nominated
	Kids' Choice Awards Argentina	Best International Program		Won
2015	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actress	Paris Smith	Nominated
	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Kids TV Show		Nominated
	Reggie Awards	Entertainment Campaign		Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Every Witch Way at IMDb
• Every Witch Way at TV.com