WESTERLY — When Desmond Moran was a senior at Westerly High School in 2008, he and two fellow students took third place in the annual Teen TV/Radio Commercial Challenge, a statewide video contest sponsored by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, designed to help curb drinking and driving.
Earlier this month, Moran, now 32 and a Los Angeles-based television writer-producer, found out his new TV series, “Halfsies,” was selected as a finalist for the Catalyst Story Institute’s upcoming festival in Duluth, Minn.
“I haven’t thought of that contest in years,” said Moran with a hearty laugh as he recalled the high school video project. “I was with Liz Francese and Cam Nigrelli, and I think we won tickets for a Death Cab for Cutie concert.”
Moran was on the telephone from Denver Friday afternoon. He had just flown to Colorado from his home in Los Angeles to meet up with his boyfriend, he said, so they could travel across the country together.
“We’re actually headed to Rhode Island,” added Moran, who attended State Street School and Babcock Middle School before graduating from Westerly High in 2008.
“My very first job was as a paperboy for The Westerly Sun,” added Moran with another warm laugh.
Moran, the only son of Carmelia Moran, a single mother who moved to Providence after Desmond headed off to college at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television in Los Angeles, was also the editor-in-chief of the Barker, Westerly High School’s student newspaper.
“I worked my way up from being a staff writer,” said Moran, who went on to praise his time in the Westerly schools.
“My third-grade teacher, Linda Piscatelli, was my favorite teacher ever,” he said, “and I loved Anne Barnhart, my high school English teacher. She opened my eyes to a life outside our little Rhode Island bubble and exposed me to so much good literature.”
“And Ryan Zemanek and Mr. Bonner,” he added. “I think I took every class in film and video production of his that I could.”
Moran said his love of television began “at a very young age,” and with his mother.
“It’s what we did together,” he said. “We’d sit together and watch TV … all the old sitcoms. ‘I Love Lucy’, ‘The Jeffersons’ … I loved TV.”
Moran said after graduating from Loyola, where he majored in film and television production, he began working his way through the television industry.
“I got my break into TV in 2017 with ‘Good Girls,'” he said.
“I love making and creating stories for TV,” said Moran, who served as a producer on Peacock’s “Queer as Folk,” and was a writer on Freeform’s hit comedy “Grown-ish” — a spinoff of “Black-ish” — and on seasons one and two of NBC/Netflix’s “Good Girls.”
He is also a supervising producer on Hulu’s upcoming reimagining and adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s national bestseller, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” which will star Kathryn Hahn and is being produced by Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon.
“We are filming now,” said Moran. “I was on set yesterday.”
After two years as a writer on “Grown-ish,” Moran said, he was cast in a small role, which he enjoyed.
“It combines my two loves,” added Moran, who was involved in theater productions when he was at Westerly High School.
He has a role in his new show, “Halfsies,” which tells the story of six Black half-siblings each struggling to define themselves as they reenter each other’s lives following the death of their oldest sibling.
The brothers include Caleb (played by Moran) who endures racism in the gay community; recovering drug addict Theo (played by Galen J. Williams), who is attempting to forge a new path in life; born-again Silas (played by Devere Rogers), who is grappling with a sinful temptation; parolee Anton (Jerah Milligan), hustling to provide for his family; and soon-to-be-dad Tarik (Wade Allain-Marcus), who is determined to be a better father than the one they all share.
“As the brothers try to connect for the first time in any of their lives, they’ll find their issues, fears, and dreams make them more of a family than blood ever could,” a statement about the series says.
“In a period of uncertainty for our industry, this year’s crop of storytellers reflect the ingenuity, resilience, and awe-inspiring creativity needed to make and share content in today’s quickly evolving entertainment landscape,” said Philip Gilpin Jr., Catalyst’s executive director, in a statement. “These are stories that need to be told by creators who deserve industry attention, and we are thrilled to provide them with a platform at this year’s festival.”
Although Moran will be traveling and unable to attend the festival, he praised the organizers and said he’s delighted with the positive attention the project has been receiving.
Before being selected for Catalyst Story Institute’s showcase and festival, “Halfsies” was accepted at Outfest, a Los Angeles festival created to give visibility to diverse LGBTQIA+ stories and empower storytellers.
The Catalyst Institute is a nonprofit organization that helps creators advance their careers and find outlets for their content at the festival, which is held in Duluth each year.
“Catalyst helps up-and-coming talent develop content for television, connect with industry leaders, and jumpstart their careers,” said Erin McGarvey of Rasky Partners in a statement about Moran and “Halfsies,” adding that the festival receives about 1,000 project submissions each year.
“Des is one of just a handful of creators whose work will be showcased,” McGarvey added. “Fewer than 10 percent of all submissions are featured at the festival, which attracts agents, producers, directors, and other TV industry executives looking for new talent and new programming.”
“It’s really exciting,” said Moran, who can now claim the title of co-executive producer.
Moran said he is working on a few new projects but was hesitant to share too much information.
“Can I just say I have a TV and feature project in various stages?” he asked.
