Wareham to Los Angeles: Screenwriter celebrates success, second season of TV show

Dec 26, 2018

Screenwriter Alexandra Decas will have extra cause for celebration this new year with the season two premiere of her sitcom “Grown-ish” set to air on Jan. 2.

A Wareham native, Decas has been working on the Freeform show since May of 2017; but her Hollywood success story has a history dating all the way back into her childhood.

A self described T.V. junkie, Decas said there was nothing she loved more than coming home from school to watch sitcoms.

In high school, shows like “Friends”, “Will & Grace” and “Sex and the City” were some of her favorites.

While enrolled at Tabor Academy in Marion, Decas said she formed a strong affinity for writing and storytelling.

She went on to major in communications at Boston University, never imagining that her two passions might actually mesh.

“You just never really think about it,” Decas said. “But for every T.V. show you watch, there’s hundreds of people working behind the scenes. And I just thought hey, wait a minute, that could be me!”

A career in television was Decas’s dream, and after graduating in 2009 she purchased a plane ticket for Los Angeles.

There, she entered into Boston University’s “Writer in Hollywood” post-graduate program, juggling two internships while looking for something more permanent.

The goal, Decas said, was to become a writer’s assistant.

“It’s a position where you take a lot of notes for the actual show writers to help them organize their ideas,” she said. “It’s also a position that’s very hard to come by.”

To make ends meet, Decas took on a job as a personal assistant for an actor on “Grey’s Anatomy”.

The job allowed Decas to stay in Los Angeles for three years after her post graduate program ended. Traveling to and from the set of “Grey’s Anatomy”, Decas said it also helped her to form some industry connections.

Her lucky break came when she was introduced to producer Jonathan Groff, a showrunner for comedies such as “Happy Endings” and “Scrubs”.

Groff helped Decas to get her first writer’s assistant job on a show called “Eagleheart”, an Adult Swim comedy entering its final season.

“I took the position knowing I’d be out of a job quickly,” Decas said. “But it turned out to be the right move.”

After seeing her success, Groff decided to take Decas on as his own assistant.

Together, the two went to work on ABC’s hit sitcom, “Black-ish”, which was nominated for a Golden Globe this past year.

While working at ABC, Decas met her writing partner, Melanie Kirschbaum.

After two seasons on “Black-ish”, the duo took an offer from DreamWorks to work on a Netflix series; but it wasn’t long before they were back.

Kenya Barris, the show’s producer, was getting ready to start work on a spinoff series called “Grown-ish”, and he wanted Decas and Kirschbaum on board.

The show follows Zoey, the eldest daughter on “Black-ish”, as she heads off to college and begins her journey to adulthood.

“It’s been a really fun show to write,” said Decas. “And it’s been very personal, too. I’m always thinking about how I would do things in college, because I want the script to be as authentic as possible.”

The show’s success into a second season was major accomplishment for Decas, who hopes to one day sell her own show.

“Seeing my ideas come to life on the screen has been amazing,” she said. “I’m surrounded by amazing, funny people who are like family. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything better.”