It’s a reunion years in the making! Mr. Laritate (Bill Chott) returns to Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on the Season 2 premiere to give Justin Russo (David Henrie) some advice.
Mr. Laritate was the principal of Tribeca Prep Sr. High School on Wizards of Waverly Place, where Justin and Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) attended.
The logline for the episode “Howdy with a Trance of Gumballs,” which premieres on September 19, reads, “When an oracle from the wizard world shows up on Billie’s doorstep and predicts that Billie will destroy the big summer carnival, Billie stops at nothing to change the future.”
In a clip shared with TV Insider, Russo, who is the principal of his children’s school, after being promoted from vice principal, stands in the school’s gym, which is covered in balloons, used cups and plates, and games from the school’s carnival. “Well, at least Mr. Laritate isn’t here to see this,” he says.
“Howdy, Buckaroo,” Mr. Laritate says as he appears in the doorway. Stepping over the trash on the floor, he asks Russo what happened.
“I wish you could have seen this place before it was messed up. It was perfect,” Russo says. “I mean not Laritate perfect. How’d you do it? You always made this job look so easy.”
Disney/Lara Solanki
“Easy?” Mr. Laritate chuckles. “I don’t know what school you went to, but every day at Tribeca Prep was a real humdinger, mostly because of your sister, Alex.”
“Yeah, she was a lot,” Russo chuckles. “Still is.”
Mr. Laritate went on to tell him that there is “no such thing as a perfect principal.” “All you can do is your best, and I know that you do that,” he said. “I’m proud of you, partner.”
“That means more to mean than you will ever know,” Russo replies, sniffling. He then pulls his old principal in for a hug, which caught Mr. Laritate off guard.
See Mr. Laritate return, as well as how the school carnival gets ruined, on Friday, September 19, on Disney Channel. Season 2 will drop its first two episodes on September 12, before all of the episodes will be available on Disney+ on October 8.
Bill Chott is not the only character from the original series returning this season. Mantooth (Sean Whalen) will make an appearance, and Amanda Tepe, who played several memorable roles throughout the series’ run, will also star in the Christmas-themed Season 2 episode.
Season 2 will pick up with the Russo children learning magic from Justin after they discovered their powers at the end of Season 1.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Season 2, September 12, on Disney Channel, October 8 on Disney+
