Single mother Gillian Apple unfurls a purple rug that has caught her eye and lets loose a Genie who has been rolled up for 2000 years as punishment for an unspeakable Genie offense -- falling in love with his mistress, er, female master. The outrageous, incorrigible Genie tries to convince her that he desperately needs the acceptance of a new master in order to remain free, while she is reluctant to let magic into her children's already disrupted lives and therefore stubbornly resists his attempts to trick her into wishing.
When Gillian accidentally wishes there were more than one of her to better manage her busy home and work schedule, Genie obliges by cloning her as the careful, spontaneous ""Fun Gillian"". The two Gillians then compete to see who rules the roost. Meanwhile, Genie moves into Mickey's dollhouse when Gillian banishes him from the kitchen.
Jerry Van Dyke joins the cast as Genie's 50,000-year-old grandfather, who must be decommissioned because his magical powers have waned. Genie's caustic mother Estelle also pays a visit, and complains that her son's master is a non-wisher -- but then Gillian finally makes a wish that may forever affect an ancient tradition as well as Grampa Max when she learns that he is to be sent on the ""Big Ride"" into eternity.
In this episode, Jillian gets the abiltity to mind read. From there, Jillian finds a pack of cigarettes in Mickey's purse. However, Mickey claims they are a friends.
Genie meddles in Gillian's love life—or lack thereof, rather—by conjuring up amorous suitor Don Juan himself. When she gets wise to her escort's identity, she makes Genie sweat. Meanwhile, Mickey enters a talent contest at school doing a magic act that involves her temporarily invisible little brother.
In this episode, Genie turns mickey into a witch. The cableman is a werewolf.
Salem the Cat from the Sabrina series visits the set of You Wish. He magically transport the cast back to the 70's.
Genie and Grandpa lose their ability to predict the future and are forced to trust in fate; despite learning the outcome of his big baseball game, Travis must believe in himself; and Mickey is horrified to discover she is destined to marry a computer nerd.
Slighted by his sister, Travis uses Genie's time-travel portal to run away to a pirate ship; Gillian decorates the family room with mementos that do not include Genie.
On Thanksgiving, Genie shrinks Gillian and can't restore her to full size, so Grampa takes her to a genie celebration called ""Klunderbuk"" hoping to get her back to normal.
Genie has only a week to teach a beautiful intern the tricks of the trade or she will be sent back to the Genie Academy. Meanwhile, a strangely familiar but mischievous teenage girl who has a bad influence on her befriends Mickey, and Gillian reveals her own wild adolescence, and how a dear friend set her straight.
Gillian finds herself in mortal danger from a jealous genie who turns out to be Genie's fiancé, whom he inadvertently left at the altar 2,000 years ago when he was trapped in the rug. It turns out that all genie marriages are arranged, and Mickey's first date teaches Grandpa a lesson in the nature of love, causing him to reconsider the match.
Genie gives Mickey and Travis, each a present granting them one wish a piece, Mickey wishes for a white Christmas in L.A., where on the other hand Travis wishes everyday was Christmas, leading the Apple's to go through a time warp, Santa appears and asks who made the bonehead wish of it being Christmas everyday, and it's up to Travis to make it right again.