“Wizards” Executive Producer Makes Television Magic

By Alyssa Altman 9-22-2012

Inspiration comes easily to Todd Greenwald.
The executive producer of the Emmy-winning “Wizards of Waverly Place” told WEBN in Los Angeles that “The core of the show, even though it’s about magic, is about sibling rivalry, and it’s based on my kids.”
Greenwald has watched his show grow and develop into four seasons and a TV movie. Throughout the process, it has won three Emmys for “Outstanding Children’s Program.”
21 years ago, Greenwald got his start in television as a Production Assistant on “Saved by the Bell.” From there, he worked his way up to writing for “The New Class,” but still wanted to do a show of his own.
“I remember looking out and saying, one day, I could do this myself. I can, you know, make a great show.” Greenwald spent time at multiple networks before landing at Disney, where he began developing his dream series.
“Disney gave me two parameters – we want to do a show about family, and we want to do a show about magic.”
Greenwald and his Development Executive had a rough idea for the show before the details fell into place under unusual circumstances. ‪”It was raining, and ‘Wizards’ was pretty much outlined, in the car, on the 101, in traffic.‬” The rest, as they say, is history.
One hundred and six episodes later, “Wizards” is now over. But, Greenwald has other projects on his plate. He’s developing a comedy pilot about a farmer’s market to pitch this fall.
“That’s the fun part, the development for me. Then when you start hiring people to flesh that out, and bring things to your project you never could have dreamed of, that’s exciting as well.”