Just Add Magic (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Just Add Magic
Just Add Magic
Genre	Kids & Family Fantasy Drama
Developed by	Joanna Lewis Kristine Songco
Starring	Olivia Sanabia Abby Donnelly Aubrey Miller Judah Bellamy Catia Ojeda Andrew Burlinson Dee Wallace Amy Hill Ellen Karsten Aiden Lovekamp
Composer(s)	Deborah Lurie Zack Ryan
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	51
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joe Nussbaum Andrew Orenstein Co-executive producers: Luisa Leschin Joanna Lewis Kristine Songco
Producer(s)	Pixie Wespiser
Cinematography	Mark Doering-Powell
Running time	23–27 minutes
Production company(s)	Amazon Studios Pictures in a Row Grasshopper Lane Entertainment
Distributor	Amazon.com
Release
Original network	Amazon Prime Video
Picture format	HDTV
Audio format	Stereo; 5.1 Surround
Original release	January 15, 2015 (2015-01-15) – October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)
Chronology
Followed by	Just Add Magic: Mystery City

Just Add Magic is an American live-action TV show for families. It is based on the book of the same name by Cindy Callaghan. Amazon Studios produced the series. A first episode was made in 2015. The full show started the next year. Amazon decided to make a second season in June 2016. This was because it was the most watched Amazon Original Kids show ever in its first weekend!

A new series, Just Add Magic: Mystery City, came out on January 17, 2020.

Plot Summary

Season 1

In Saffron Falls, three best friends, Kelly, Darbie, and Hannah, love to cook. They find an old, mysterious cookbook in Kelly's attic. The recipes have strange names and need unusual ingredients. They learn that the recipes are magical! The girls visit Mama P's shop for ingredients. Mama P seems to know a lot about magic.

Kelly, Darbie, and Hannah start using magic to help with their middle school problems. But they soon learn that magic has consequences. They also find out that Kelly's neighbor, Ms. Silvers, knows about magic too. The girls realize they are the new protectors of the cookbook. Mama P, Ms. Silvers, and Kelly's Grandma Becky were protectors before them. Kelly's main goal is to find a magic recipe to cure her grandma's mysterious illness. They discover Grandma Becky, Mama P, and Ms. Silvers are all under curses. They bake a special pie that breaks all three curses. But this also brings back Chuck, a boy who disappeared in the 1960s!

Season 2 (Part 1)

After breaking the curses, Kelly, Hannah, and Darbie realize they brought back Chuck Hankins. He was a teenager from the 1960s who vanished because of the Original Cooks (Mama P, Ms. Silvers, and Grandma Becky). The girls find an old photo of Chuck from 1865. They learn he is much older than he looks and has disappeared before.

Chuck creates his own magic cookbook. It starts stealing recipes from their book! The girls find Chuck's invisible trailer and take his book. They learn he stole Mama P's special Morbium Seed. The Original Cooks try to trap Chuck. But Chuck uses the Morbium Seed to take over Jake's body. As Jake, Chuck tries to trick the girls. Kelly and Darbie save Hannah from one of Chuck's spells. This breaks Chuck's immortality spell and frees his sister, Rose, from the book. Chuck and Rose go back in time to live out their lives.

Season 2 (Part 2)

The magic cookbook and spices are stolen from Kelly's backpack. Kelly, Hannah, and Darbie meet RJ, a past protector from the 1990s. With Jake's help, they get the book back. A beautiful carved box with the cookbook's symbol appears in Grandma Becky's shop. Soon, everyone's memories of magic start disappearing.

The girls suspect Hannah's teacher, Mr. Morris. But it turns out to be Caroline, another former protector. She was disguised as Jill, Mrs. Quinn's campaign manager. Caroline wants to erase all memories of magic so it can't cause problems anymore. The trio eventually falls under Caroline's spell.

Season 3 (Part 1)

Mama P's cafe is bought by a coffee chain. Kelly, Hannah, and Darbie suspect the new manager, Erin. They find clues that someone knows magic is real, even after memories were erased. This person stole their rare Night Blooming spices. They call this person the "Night Bandit." The girls meet Darbie's friend, Piper, and introduce her to magic. The four friends work together to find the Night Bandit.

They discover that Kelly is the Night Bandit! She was poisoned by a spell from the previous season. In the final episode, the spell on Kelly is broken. But then Grandma Becky disappears! The girls travel back in time to save her. This also creates a new spice called Parquinnien, named after their last names. The magic cookbook then moves on to new protectors: Zoe, Erin's daughter, and her friends.

Season 3 (Part 2)

The magic cookbook now belongs to Zoe, Ish (Zoe's neighbor), and Leo (Zoe's stepbrother). With help from Kelly, Darbie, and Hannah, the new trio learns to believe in magic. They work together to face new challenges.

Just Add Magic: Mystery City (2020)

In this spin-off series, new protectors Zoe, Ish, and Leo solve their first mystery. Zoe finds a book linked to her father, who died when she was young. The book tells a story from the late 1800s. It's about Ian Maddox, a protector, and the Wesson brothers. The Wesson brothers created a magical sourdough starter for gold, but it caused huge destruction. Ian Maddox traveled to the future with Chuck's help to hide the starter. Zoe, Ish, and Leo race against the Wesson brothers' descendants to find and destroy the sourdough starter. They need three special coins to find it. With help from Kelly, Darbie, and Hannah, they succeed. Magic then leaves the book and spreads everywhere.

Cast and Characters

Main Characters

• Olivia Sanabia as Kelly Quinn: She is the first of the new trio to find the magic cookbook. Kelly loves basketball and is very loyal to her friends. She takes her role as a magic protector seriously.
• Abby Donnelly as Darbie O'Brien: Another new protector. Darbie is known for being a bit clumsy and fun. She enjoys basketball and theater.
• Aubrey Miller as Hannah Parker-Kent: The third new protector. Hannah is very smart and starts attending a private school. She loves playing the piano.
• Judah Bellamy as Jake Williams: Kelly, Hannah, and Darbie's friend. He works at Mama P's Cafe and later starts his own food business. He often helps the girls with their cooking.
• Catia Ojeda as Terri Quinn: Kelly's mom, who later becomes the town Mayor.
• Andrew Burlinson as Scott Quinn: Kelly's dad and Becky's son. He worries a lot when his mother is sick.
• Dee Wallace as Rebecca “Becky” Quinn: Kelly's grandma. She was a protector when she was young. She used powerful magic to break her connection to the book.
• Amy Hill as Ida "Mama P" Perez: The cafe owner and a past protector of the book. A curse kept her from leaving town for many years.
• Ellen Karsten as Ms. Gina Silvers: A music teacher and another past protector. A curse stopped her from playing piano in public for years.
• Aiden Lovekamp as Buddy Quinn: Kelly's younger brother. He likes sports and sometimes bothers his sister.

Recurring Characters

• Mira Furlan as The Traveler: A mysterious person who guards the cookbook and sometimes gives advice to the protectors.
• Zach Callison as Chuck: A past protector from the 1800s. He made a big mistake with magic and spent years trying to fix it.
• Jeremy Guskin as RJ: A past protector from the 1990s. He tried to use magic to become rich and popular.
• Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Zoe: Erin's daughter, who later becomes a new protector of the cookbook.
• Felisha Terrell as Nöelle Jasper: A past protector from the 1990s. She tried to use magic to help her restaurant.
• Sprague Grayden as Jill/Caroline: A past protector from the 1990s. She tried to make everyone forget about magic.
• Tess Paras as Erin Chua: The manager of Springtown Coffee, who takes over Mama P's Cafe for a while.
• Usman Ally as Mr Morris: Hannah's teacher. He helped the protectors from the 1990s with their recipes.
• Jen Drohan as Amy: Mr. O'Brien's girlfriend.

Just Add Magic: Mystery City Characters

• Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Zoe: Erin's daughter and a new protector. She also appeared in the original Just Add Magic.
• Tyler Sanders as Leo: A new protector of the cookbook. He is Nick's son and Zoe's step-brother. Leo loves superheroes and art.
• Jenna Qureshi as Ish/Ishita: A new protector of the cookbook. She is Zoe and Leo's neighbor.
• Matt Dellapina as Nick Sellitti: Erin's new husband, who owns his own restaurant.
• Tess Paras as Erin Chua: Manager of Springtown Coffee. She moves to Silver City to marry Nick.
• James Urbaniak as Pierce Hamilton: The main villain. He tries to stop Zoe, Leo, and Ish from solving the mystery.
• Casey Simpson as Cody Hamilton: Pierce's son. He enjoys helping his family solve the mystery.
• Sydney Taylor as Lexi Hamilton: Pierce's daughter and a good friend of Ish.
• Shane Harper as Ian Maddox: A past protector. He is revealed to be Zoe's father and Erin's late husband.

Episodes

Series Overview

Production and Release

On January 4, 2018, a new trailer came out. It announced more episodes for the second season. These episodes started on Amazon on January 19, 2018.

On January 11, 2019, a trailer for the third season was released. The third season began on February 1, 2019.

The show also aired on Universal Kids from June 9, 2019, to November 22, 2019.

On September 20, 2019, it was announced that a special Just Add Magic episode would come out on October 25.

See also

In Spanish: Una pizca de magia para niños