Dennis Quaid Turns Sinister as the "Happy Face Killer" in New Paramount+ Series with Annaleigh Ashford - Watch the Teaser
Annaleigh Ashford stars alongside Dennis Quaid in this new Paramount series, about a serial killer’s horrific legacy and his daughter's chilling account of being raised by the Happy Face killer.
Dennis Quaid has an iconic smile—a million-dollar smile, you could say! His smirks can be endearing, even downright charming, when used correctly. But in his newest role, Dennis Quaid uses his winning smile to conceal something extremely sinister, as he becomes the face of the Happy Face Killer!
In this new Paramount+ original series from television powerhouse couple Robert King and Michelle King, the creators of the hit shows The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Elsbeth, and Evil, Tony Award winner and Emmy-nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Welcome to Chippendales, Impeachment: American Crime Story) stars as Melissa, a make-up artist whose father is a notorious serial killer. Quaid takes on the role of her father.
Told through Melissa's unique perspective as someone who was raised by a serial killer but didn't know it until she reached 15 years of age after her father was arrested for the murders, the upcoming streaming series is inspired by the real-life and horrific story of Keith Jesperson. He was a seemingly ordinary family man living in Portland, Oregon, who in the 1990s murdered at least eight women. The label, the Happy Face Killer, came from the numerous confession letters he wrote and sent to the media, local newspapers, and the police, always signing the letters off with a smiley face.
Jesperson's own daughter, Melissa, would later appear on shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, and a 20/20 special to offer her childhood memories and account of some of the early signs of her father's homicidal impulses, mainly involving stray animals around the house.
The series is the dramatized retelling of the time when Melissa came out publicly and told her story for the first time about her father, the Happy Face Killer, as she grapples with the notion of this horrible family shadow.
The show is also based on Melissa's true crime podcast Happy Face by iHeart Radio and her memoir Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter, which she co-wrote with writer M. Bridget Cook.
In addition to Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid, the cast also includes James Wolk as Ben Moore, Melissa's husband, while David Harewood takes on the fictional role of Dr. Greg, host of a daytime health and talk show (ala Dr. Phil) who has invited Melissa to come on to tell her story for the first time on live television.
Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, and Benjamin Mackey co-star, while television writer Jennifer Cacicio (Your Honor) serves as showrunner.
Happy Face will debut with a two-episode premiere starting Thursday, March 20th, only on Paramount+. Watch the newly-released teaser, above.
Below are some of Melissa's appearances on shows and also news coverage of her unbelievable life story: