Paramount+ has announced that Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe-nominated actor Dennis Quaid (The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow) will star in the new original drama series, Happy Face. The series is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa Moore; the critically acclaimed Happy Face podcast from iHeartPodcasts and the autobiography Shattered Silence written by Moore and M. Bridget Cook.
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Quaid will be taking on the titular role of the real-life serial killer who is notoriously known as “Happy Face” because of the smiley faces he drew on evidence where he bragged about his crimes. He joins the cast alongside Annaleigh Ashford, who is set to star as his daughter, Melissa. The series will consist of an eight-episode first season and it will begin production this Spring in Vancouver and premiere exclusively on Paramount+ globally in 2025,
BRINGING HAPPY FACE TO LIFE
For Paramount+, HAPPY FACE jumps off from Moore’s true-life story. Happy Face (Quaid) is an incarcerated serial killer who also is Melissa’s (Ashford) once-beloved father. After many years of no contact, he finally finds a way to force himself back into his daughter’s life. Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. Not only is she racing against the clock but she also discovers the impact her father had on his victims’ families, while she faces a reckoning of her own identity.
The real-life “Happy Face Killer” is Keith Hunter Jesperson, is confirmed to have killed 8 people during his killing spree in the 90’s though according to Jesperson, he has claimed that he has killed over 180 victims. His first victim was in 1990 near Portland, Oregon. The victims were mainly women and he was eventually arrested on March 30, 1995 for the murder of Julie Winningham. The eight women who were confirmed to have been killed by Jesperson were from Washington, Oregon, California, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
He is currently serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. In September 2009, he was once again indicted in Riverside County, California on murder charges. This led him to be convicted of another murder and received a fourth life sentence in January 2010.
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HAPPY FACE is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts, and Semi-Formal Productions. Michael Showalter (The Dropout, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) will be directing the first episode. The series will be executive-produced by Jennifer Cacicio, who will also serve as a showrunner. Robert and Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson and Jordana Mollick are also set to be showrunners. The series is being distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
What do you guys think? Does Paramount’s new Happy Face series sound interesting to you? Are you a fan of true-crime series? Let us know and don’t forget to check out our socials! If you like this article, make sure to follow us for more content.
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