A-list actress and musician Selena Gomez has recently reclaimed her spot as the most followed woman on Instagram. Gomez got her start acting on the children’s television series Barney & Friends before her career took off from her time on Disney Channel. She starred on the hit show Wizards of Waverly Place from 2007 to 2012, but was also featured on numerous other Disney projects. Gomez has since developed a very successful music career, has produced her own projects and owns multiple businesses.
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Though all of Selena Gomez’s professional ventures gain mass amounts of support from her fans, her work in television has always been particularly praised. Gomez now stars in the well-respected Hulu original series Only Murderers in the Building. As viewers wait for the third season to premiere, there are many other options for how to watch the actress-singer on screen.
10 ‘The Wizards Return: Alex vs Alex’ (2013)
IMDb Score 6.3/10
In this TV movie following the finale of Wizards of Waverly Place, the Russo family is back and traveling to Italy. Conflict arises when Alex accidentally conjures two versions of herself: a Good Alex and an Evil Alex.
Evil Alex joins forces with a young wizard on his quest to take over the world. Good Alex must then find a way to stop the evil version of herself before it’s too late. Wizards of Waverly Place fans were stoked to find out that the cast would reunite to continue the Russo family story.
9 ‘Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana’ (2009)
IMDb Score: 6.4/10
Disney Channel is notorious for having beloved crossovers between shows. Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana is a collaboration between the shows Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana. The characters of Gomez’s show and Miley Cyrus‘s Hannah Montana end up on the S.S. Tipton cruise ship at the same time.
Fans of Wizards of Waverly Place are likely to have heard of The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana, as they all aired on Disney Channel at around the same years. This movie is thus a great and unique opportunity to see the stories of many fan-favorite shows joined together.
8 ‘A Rainy Day in New York’ (2019)
IMDb Score: 6.5/10
University student Gatsby Welles (Timothée Chalamet) and Ashleigh Enright (Elle Fanning) travel to Manhattan together for Ashleigh to interview director Roland Pollard (Liev Schreiber) for the college paper. Ashleigh then attends Pollard’s new film screening while Gatsby explores the city.
Selena Gomez’s time in the film is relatively brief, but impactful to Gatsby’s storyline. Gomez plays Chan Tyrell, the younger sister of Gatsby’s ex-girlfriend. Gatsby agrees to participate in a kiss scene with her for his film student friend’s project.
7 ‘Ramona and Beezus’ (2010)
IMDb Score: 6.5/10
Ramona and Beezus follows a young girl named Ramona (Joey King) who seeks to help her family overcome the debt they fall into when her father (John Corbett) loses his job. Ramona’s efforts are amusing, but often interfere with her parents’, sister’s (Selena Gomez) and aunt’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) own lives.
Like the relationship of many sisters worldwide, Ramona and Selena’s character Beezus often argue and struggle to spend time together. The film is a heartwarming exploration of the bond between sisters. Selena Gomez and Joey King have great chemistry on-screen and do well to depict how complicated sisterhood can be.
6 ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ (2015)
IMDb Score: 6.6/10
Hotel Transylvania 2 immediately shares that Mavis and Johnny’s relationship has progressed spectacularly since the first film. They get married and Mavis announces to her father that she’s pregnant. Dracula is thrilled, but complications arise when the half-vampire and half-human baby has difficulties connecting to his vampire side.
Dracula makes it his mission to keep the baby close and protected, but Mavis considers if moving away would be better for her son. The movie also features the voices of Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade and Keegan-Michael Key.
5 ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ (2007-2012)
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
Any Selena Gomez or Disney Channel fan would instantly recognize the name Wizards of Waverly Place.Gomez plays protagonist Alex Russo in the show about a family of wizards living within the already crazy New York City. Gomez stars alongside David Henrie, Jake T. Austin and Jennifer Stone in the 6.9/10 IMDb rated show.
Wizards of Waverly Place is easily one of Gomez’s most popular projects to date and was a massive contributor to her fame. Gomez’s portrayal of the young wizard is widely beloved and still referenced frequently. The show was a staple in the childhoods of countless young adults and was one of Disney Channel’s most popular series.
4 ‘Hotel Transylvania’ (2012)
IMDb Score: 7/10
The family-friendly Hotel Transylvania follows Dracula (Adam Sandler), who runs a five-star resort where monsters can be safe from human civilization. But when a human traveler named Jonathan (Andy Samberg) accidentally stumbles across the hotel, Dracula must scramble to hide him from the guests and save the monsters from the threat of discovery. Even worse than that, Dracula is horrified when Jonathan falls in love with his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez).
Mavis is an incredibly kind-hearted and curious 118 year-young vampire. She wishes to explore the outside world and combats her father’s cynical perspective of humankind. Hotel Transylvania is a fun film for families and children, but even adults will find themselves chuckling at the many hilarious characters.
3 ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ (2016)
IMDb Score: 7.3/10
Lost in life, avoiding a divorce from his wife and still grieving the death of his son, Ben (Paul Rudd) becomes disabled teen Trevor’s (Craig Roberts) caregiver. Ben and Trevor go on an impromptu road trip together and meet a hitchhiker named Dot (Selena Gomez) who is Trevor’s age. Dot joins them on their journey, and along the way they learn about the meaning of friendship, family and hope.
In The Fundamentals of Caring, Selena Gomez portrays an independent and headstrong young woman with a sarcastic sense of humor. Her curiosity and bluntness make her a lovable character who creates an amusing dynamic between the film’s leads.
2 ‘Rudderless’ (2014)
IMDb Score: 7.4/10
Rudderless is a music-drama film about a grieving father named Sam (Billy Crudup) who finds a box of his late son’s demo tapes. Sam performs one of his son’s songs at an open mic night at a bar. When audience member Quentin (Anton Yelchin) expresses the potential he sees in the musical performance, Sam creates a band in hopes of finding peace with his son’s passing.
In the film, Selena Gomez plays Kate, who was the girlfriend of Sam’s son before his passing. Adult Gomez fans who have only seen her in family-friendly movies and shows would be intrigued to watch her in this darker drama with an unexpected twist.
1 ‘Only Murderer’s in the Building’ (2021-present)
IMDb Score: 8.1/10
Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) are three strangers who all share a love for true-crime podcasts. A gruesome death occurs inside their apartment building in the Upper West Side of New York and the trio join forces to investigate what they suspect was a murder.
Selena Gomez’s character Mabel was friends with the murder victim of the first season and thus finds herself personally invested in the exploration of his death. As a lead character in the comedy series, any Gomez fan would be pleased with the amount of time the actress spends on screen. Besides being a star on the Emmy-winning show, Selena Gomez is also an executive producer.