Every Witch Way Explained

Genre:Sitcom
Telenovela
Teen comedy
Contemporary fantasy
Teen drama
Creator:
  • Mariela Romero
  • Catharina Ledeboer
Director:
  • Arturo Manuitt (season 1)
  • Leonardo Galavis (season 1)
  • Clayton Boen (season 2-4)
Starring:
Opentheme:"Every Witch Way" performed by Paola Andino
Composer:
  • Rainer Lorenzo
  • Ingrid Rodgers
Country:United States
Canada
Language:English
Num Seasons:4
Num Episodes:82
List Episodes:List of Every Witch Way episodes
Executive Producer:
  • José Vicente Scheuren
  • Alicia Ávila
  • Tatiana Rodríguez
Producer:Mauricio Toro
Camera:
Runtime:22–23 minutes
Company:Cinemat
Channel:Nickelodeon
Related:Grachi
WITS Academy

Every Witch Way is a telenovela-formatted teen sitcom that originally aired on Nickelodeon from January 1, 2014, to July 30, 2015.[1]

The first season aired over twenty weeknights, Monday–Friday, where the first 20-episode season aired throughout January 2014. On March 13, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that they had commissioned a second season of Every Witch Way,[2] that aired from July 7[3] to August 8. On July 31, 2014, Nickelodeon renewed the show for a third season,[4] which premiered on January 5, 2015.[5] On February 25, 2015, Nickelodeon renewed the show for a fourth season[6] and announced a spin-off titled WITS Academy.[6] It was announced on June 1, 2015, that the fourth season would be the final season.[7] The series finale aired on July 30, 2015. WITS Academy premiered on October 5, 2015, airing one season.[8]

Series overview

See main article: List of Every Witch Way episodes.

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", who has the great powers and abilities of her generation. She survives the school year with help from Lily, the school nurse who is her Guardian; her best friend Andi Cruz; their mutual crush Daniel Miller; and the rest of the Sharks, Iridium High's swim team. There are obstacles along the way, 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, who is a 400-year-old witch and the old Chosen One, who plans to seize Emma's powers during the upcoming eclipse, 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 Emma actually still has them, which she keeps secret from Daniel in Season 2.

Season 2

As a new year begins at Iridium High, The Witches' Council, the head of the magic realm, arrives 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 Emma cannot do this because of her title as the "Chosen One"; at the same time, she does not 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 help from 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 to try 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, a new student from Sydney, Australia, arrives at Iridium High and becomes the school's new heartthrob. Francisco has been promoted to the position of principal and assigns Emma to show Jax around. While doing so, she has no suspicions that he is a wizard, but she soon learns this. Andi and Daniel are suspicious of him, but Jax, who has a mysterious past, shuts everyone out and develops feelings for Emma. While almost everyone is blinded by his bad side, Emma sees his vulnerable side, and she slowly starts to fall for him. Then there is 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; Jax and E (Emma's evil clone who was made after Jax showed Emma a new cloning spell), also plan to do so, but E is defeated before she can. Jax reforms at the end of Season 2, and he, Emma, and Daniel 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 lifeguard there. 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 help from the Cristal de Caballero, a sacred gem the Kanays use to make a witch's power go haywire. Mia puts a spider seal on Daniel that turns him evil and turns him against Emma. Mia and Diego get into a kanay duel, resulting in Diego being put under Mia's control temporarily. While Desdemona and Agememnon try to overthrow Emma, she tries to change Phillip into a human, using a forbidden spell. She and Mia get sucked into the game and must work together to escape it. At the end of the season finale, Emma must decide whether to be with Jax or Daniel, and she chooses Jax.

Season 4

Emma's decision to be with Jax triggers a Continuum Break on Daniel, in which he shifts into a different life in the Everglades, and everyone but Emma forgets who he is. Emma and the gang travel to the Everglades to bring 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 not even Emma will remember him. In the crossover with Talia in the Kitchen, Talia Parra's magic spices restore some of Daniel's memory to him (only up until the day he and Emma met), but a kiss with Emma finally ends the Continuum Break, which restores his entire memory. 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 want her back, so she searches for a time manipulation spell so she can go back in time to save her. She steals the powers of other witches (the council, Maddie, the principal, and E), and becomes more reckless with her powers and causing her friends to become angry with 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, which leads Jax to learn more about his family He meets his powerless long-lost sister Jessie, who reveals that his mom Liana is not dead. Jax believed that Jake was evil, but near the end of season 4, it is revealed that the actual evil witch is Liana. 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, and Jake says that now that Jessie has her powers, she 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 WITS Academy as well, to train to finally become a Guardian. Andi packs (with Emma giving her the Hexeron), 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

Recurring

Broadcast

Every Witch Way premiered on July 7, 2014 on YTV in Canada,[9] and on July 14, 2014 on Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[10] In Australia the series debuted on August 4, 2014 on Nickelodeon.[11] The second season premiered on February 9, 2015.[12] The first series also started broadcasting on Irish channel RTÉ 2 in April 2015.

DVD releases

SeasonRelease dates
Region 1Region 2Region 4
1June 13, 2014[13] TBATBA
2January 7, 2015[14] TBATBA

Reception

Critical

After a few episodes, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show 2 stars,[15] 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".

Ratings

The premiere episode had an estimated 2.10 million viewers.[16] The second episode drew 2.86 million viewers, giving a large increase in audience.[17] The season one finale on January 30, 2014, had 2.60 million viewers,[18] while the first season had a total average of 2.166 million viewers, and a top rating for the 4-11 demographic.[19]

The season 2 episodes drew numerous viewers, however, its eighth episode, drew 1.71 million viewers,[20] The one hour season two finale on August 8, 2014, had 1.70 million viewers,[21] 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,[22] earning a top rating in season 2 for the 18-49 demographic.[23]

The season 3 premiere had 1.66 million viewers.[24] The second episode of season 3 had 1.54 million viewers,[24] causing a small drop until the third episode, which drew 1.56 million viewers.[24] The season 3 finale drew 1.71 million viewers.[25]

Season 4 premiered with 1.50 million viewers.[26] The crossover with Talia in the Kitchen drew 1.16 million viewers[27] during its first half. The 14th episode had 0.96 million viewers,[28] an unusually small audience. The series finale on July 30, 2015, had 1.64 million viewers.[29]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRefs
2014Imagen AwardsBest Children's ProgrammingEvery Witch Way[30] [31]
Best Young Actress/TelevisionPaola Andino
Kids' Choice Awards ArgentinaBest International ProgramEvery Witch Way[32]
2015Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young ActressPaola Andino[33]
Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite TV ShowEvery Witch Way[34]
Reggie AwardsEntertainment CampaignEvery Witch Way[35]

International broadcast

CountryNetwork(s)Series premiereSeries finale
Sri LankaTV DeranaAugust 5, 2019December 30, 2019
SCTV3September 1, 20161 November 2017
SeeTV

Spin-off

On February 25, 2015, Nickelodeon announced a spin-off titled WITS Academy, which aired for one season between October 5 and October 30, 2015.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Every Witch Way' Premieres on Nickelodeon Wednesday January 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20131219083813/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/12/18/every-witch-way-premieres-on-nickelodeon-wednesday-january-1/223477/. dead. December 19, 2013. December 18, 2013. December 18, 2013.
  2. Web site: Nickelodeon Commissions Second Season Of "Every Witch Way". March 13, 2014. March 14, 2014.
  3. Web site: es. Every Witch Way: Coming in July!. June 2, 2014. June 10, 2014.
  4. Web site: NickelodeonTV status. July 31, 2014. August 2, 2014.
  5. Web site: Every With Way: Season 3 Premiere TONIGHT!. January 5, 2015. January 6, 2015.
  6. Nickelodeon Continues Format Innovations by Expanding Slate of Daily Scripted Series, with Greenlights for Three New Shows. February 25, 2015. March 2, 2015.
  7. Web site: Every Witch Way: Cancelled by Nickelodeon; No Season Five. June 1, 2015. June 2, 2015.
  8. Web site: Our Hearts Are Breaking: 'WITS Academy' Is Canceled. https://web.archive.org/web/20160328153959/http://www.twistmagazine.com/posts/wits-academy-is-canceled-94935/photos/wits-academy-cast-116113. dead. March 28, 2016. March 24, 2016. March 25, 2016.
  9. Web site: CORUS KIDS JULY/AUGUST 2014 HIGHLIGHTS. July 2, 2014. Corus Entertainment. February 11, 2015. August 12, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140812033619/http://www.corusent.com/home/Corporate/PressReleases/tabid/1697/Default.aspx?Id=2740. dead.
  10. Web site: Cast a Spell This July on Nickelodeon. May 28, 2014. London. Viacom International Media Networks. February 11, 2015.
  11. Web site: New Show: Every Witch Way – Starts Mon 4th August @ 5.30pm.. Nickelodeon Australia. Twitter. July 31, 2014. February 11, 2015.
  12. Web site: New this week: The Walking Dead, Gogglebox, The Affair, Grammys, ICC World Cup, Super Rugby and more. Higgins. D. The Green Room. Foxtel. February 9, 2015. February 11, 2015.
  13. Web site: Every Witch Way: Season 1. Amazon. June 11, 2014 . June 17, 2014.
  14. Web site: Every Witch Way: Season 2. Amazon. January 8, 2015 . January 15, 2015.
  15. Web site: Ashby. Emily. Every Witch Way - Television Review. Common Sense Media. 2014. January 9, 2014.
  16. Web site: Kondolojy. Amanda. Wednesday Cable Ratings: Rose Bowl Tops Night + Fiesta Bowl, 'Dance Moms', 'My Strange Addiction' & More. https://web.archive.org/web/20140103213837/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/03/wednesday-cable-ratings-rose-bowl-tops-night-fiesta-bowl-dance-moms-my-strange-addiction-more/226105/. dead. January 3, 2014. TVbytheNumbers. January 3, 2014. January 3, 2014.
  17. Web site: Kondolojy. Amanda. Thursday Cable Ratings: Sugar Bowl Wins Night + 'Pawn Stars', 'Ground Floor', 'Mob Wives' & More. https://web.archive.org/web/20140104044328/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/03/thursday-cable-ratings-sugar-bowl-wins-night-pawn-stars-ground-floor-mob-wives-more/226345/. dead. January 4, 2014. TVbytheNumbers. January 3, 2014. January 3, 2014.
  18. Web site: Kondolojy. Amanda. Thursday Cable Ratings: 'Pawn Stars' Leads Night + 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo', 'Ridiculousness' & More. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202233540/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/31/thursday-cable-ratings-pawn-stars-leads-night-here-comes-honey-boo-boo-ridiculousness-more/233399/. dead. February 2, 2014. TVbytheNumbers. January 31, 2014. February 4, 2014.
  19. Web site: Nickelodeon Wins February With Kids and Total Viewers. https://web.archive.org/web/20140302180537/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/02/25/nickelodeon-wins-february-with-kids-and-total-viewers/240162/. dead. March 2, 2014. February 25, 2014. March 14, 2014.
  20. Web site: Kondolojy. Amanda. Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Pawn Stars' Leads Night + 'Duck Dynasty' 'Tops Night' + 'Teen Mom', 'ESPY Awards', 'Suits' & More. https://web.archive.org/web/20140720001024/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/07/17/wednesday-cable-ratings-duck-dynasty-tops-night-teen-mom-espy-awards-suits-more/283572/. dead. July 20, 2014. TVbytheNumbers. July 17, 2014. July 19, 2014.
  21. Web site: Friday Cable Finals. August 11, 2014. Pucci. Douglas. TV Media Insights. Cross Mediaworks. January 6, 2015. December 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222020145/http://www.tvmediainsights.com/forum/topic/friday-80814-3/. dead.
  22. Web site: Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 11.26.2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141209053800/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-25-wednesday-cable-originals-11-26-2014.html. dead. December 9, 2014. Metcalf. Mitch. Showbuzz Daily. December 1, 2014. December 21, 2014.
  23. Web site: Nickelodeon is the Top Basic Cable of 2014. December 24, 2014. December 24, 2014. February 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150220175348/http://www.tvmediainsights.com/tv-ratings/nickelodeon-top-basic-cable-network-2014/240162/. dead.
  24. Monday Broadcast & Cable Finals. January 8, 2015. Nielsen Media Research.
  25. Web site: Friday Final Nationals: CBS and ABC Share Top Honors. TV Media Insights. Cross Mediaworks. February 2, 2015. Pucci. Douglas. February 3, 2015. February 21, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150221222058/http://www.tvmediainsights.com/tv-ratings/friday-final-nationals-cbs-abc-share-top-honors/. dead. Note: The rating is in the comments section.
  26. Web site: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Ratings (& Network Update): 7.6.2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150709161114/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-monday-cable-originals-7-6-2015.html. dead. July 9, 2015. Metcalf. Mitch. July 8, 2015. SHOWBUZZDAILY. July 8, 2015.
  27. Web site: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Tuesday Cable Ratings (& Network Update): 7.14.2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150716095007/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-tuesday-cable-originals-7-14-2015.html. dead. July 16, 2015. Metcalf. Mitch. July 15, 2015. SHOWBUZZDAILY. July 16, 2015.
  28. Web site: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Ratings (& Network Update): 7.23.2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725014816/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-thursday-cable-originals-7-23-2015.html. dead. July 25, 2015. Metcalf. Mitch. July 24, 2015. SHOWBUZZDAILY. July 25, 2015.
  29. Web site: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Ratings (& Network Update): 7.30.2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150802010430/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-thursday-cable-originals-7-30-2015.html. dead. August 2, 2015. Metcalf. Mitch. July 31, 2015. SHOWBUZZDAILY. July 31, 2015.
  30. Web site: Nominees for the 29th Annual Imagen Awards Announced . June 19, 2014 . June 21, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140624024247/http://www.imagen.org/news/imagen-awards/2014/06/nominees-29th-annual-imagen-awards-announced . June 24, 2014 . mdy .
  31. Web site: Winners of 29th Annual Imagen Awards Announced Honoring Latinos in Entertainment. August 1, 2014. August 7, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141022010145/http://www.imagen.org/news/imagen-awards/2014/08/winners-29th-annual-imagen-awards-announced-honoring-latinos-entertain. October 22, 2014. mdy-all.
  32. Web site: es. Todos los ganadores, lo mejor y lo peor de los premios Kid's Choice Awards. All the winners, the best and the worst of Kids' Choice Awards. October 30, 2014. November 1, 2014.
  33. Web site: 36th Annual Young Artist Awards. Young Artist Awards. April 13, 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150418100620/http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms36.html. April 18, 2015. mdy-all.
  34. Web site: Kids' Choice Awards 2015: Complete List of Winners!. March 28, 2015. April 13, 2015.
  35. Web site: BAA Reveals the 2015 REGGIE Award Winners. April 16, 2015. June 16, 2015.