NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Disney cancels premiere after death of Cameron Boyce

LOS ANGELES

Disney Channel has canceled the red-carpet premiere of its movie “Descendants 3” after the death of 20-year-old star Cameron Boyce.

Disney Channel said in a statement Thursday that instead of the July 22 event, the telecast will be dedicated to Boyce’s memory, and the Walt Disney Co. will make a donation to the Thirst Project, a charity he loved.

Boyce, who also starred in the Disney Channel sitcom “Jessie,” played Carlos de Vil, teenage son of Cruella de Vil from “101 Dalmatians,” in the “Descendants” films, which told the story of the offspring of classic Disney villains.

Boyce’s family said he died Saturday of a seizure from an ongoing medical condition. An autopsy was performed Monday, but the coroner will conduct more tests before an official cause can be announced.

ABC’s ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ to end after next season

LOS ANGELES

It will be case closed next season for “How to Get Away with Murder,” with the show’s upcoming sixth season to be its last.

The series and its star, Viola Davis, are leaving behind history: In 2015, Davis became the first African-American to win an Emmy for best lead actress in a drama series.

In a statement Thursday announcing the show’s end, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke praised Davis for her unforgettable portrayal of a female antihero.

Davis plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant attorney and professor at a Philadelphia law school, where she teaches her no-holds-barred views of justice and life and enlists her students in her cases and misadventures.

A three-time Academy Award nominee, Davis won the best supporting actress Oscar in 2017 for “Fences.”

Series creator and executive producer Pete Nowalk called ending the show a “brutal decision,” but said the story demanded it.

“For me, Annalise Keating’s journey has always had a clear ending,” Nowalk said in a statement. “Knowing I have 15 episodes left to finish her story, and the chance to give all the characters their own killer endings” is a rare gift.

He advised fans to “buckle up” for the show’s final twists when it returns Sept. 26.

Associated Press