Peter Murrieta

Peter Murrieta is the head writer and executive producer of Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place." The series, created by Todd J. Greenwald (writer/executive producer of "Hannah Montana," a show about a teen pop music sensation), stars Selena Gomez, David Henrie, and Jake T. Austin as three otherwise normal kids who live in Greenwich Village and have secret magical powers. Together with Greenwald and a fine team of writers, Murrieta helped spearhead a family-friendly show that has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. Many films and TV shows have tried to pick up the profitable concepts of young adult successes like "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" and run with them, and almost all have failed. Murrieta and company have borrowed from both franchises (the platonic dynamic of two boys and a girl, with the main actors dating secondary characters that include a vampire and a werewolf), but they have nevertheless managed to keep their take on the ideas feeling fresh and innovative.