"Happy Face" Trailer: Annaleigh Ashford Faces Her Serial Killer Father in New True-Crime Drama Series with Dennis Quaid
Annaleigh Ashford stars as the daughter of the infamous Happy Face Killer, forced to confront her father in a tense psychological thriller series from the creators of The Good Wife.
There are daughters who resent their fathers for no good reason, and then there are those who have every reason to cut ties and vow never to speak to them again. This is one of those cases—a daughter who has every right to never see her father again but finds herself in a tense situation where she’s forced to face the man she wishes she never knew, all for the betterment of others. Now that’s what we call a premise for a show.
In the upcoming Paramount+ original series Happy Face, Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee Annaleigh Ashford stars as Melissa, a makeup artist working on a daytime talk show. Her life takes a shocking turn when she’s called into the office of the show’s host and informed that the notorious serial killer known as the Happy Face Killer has agreed to a taped prison interview—but only if she is in the room. When asked by her boss why, Melissa finally reveals the chilling truth she’s kept buried for years: “He’s my father.” —Ooooooh, this just got real, son.
Happy Face is the latest series from television powerhouse duo Robert and Michelle King, the creators of hit shows like The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Elsbeth, and Evil.
The show is inspired by the real-life true-crime story of Melissa Moore, the daughter of Keith Jesperson, a seemingly ordinary family man from Portland, Oregon, who, in the 1990s, murdered at least eight women. Jesperson earned the label Happy Face Killer due to the confession letters he sent to the media and police, always signed with a smiley face.
Melissa didn’t learn of her father’s dark double life until she was 15, after his arrest for the murders. As an adult, she publicly shared her story for the first time on The Dr. Phil Show and has since appeared on Oprah, 20/20, and other programs, recounting her childhood and reflecting on the eerie warning signs—often involving stray animals—she overlooked in her father’s behavior.
In the series, it’s none other than Dennis Quaid taking on the role of the Happy Face Killer. Coming off the success of his sinister supporting turn in the Demi Moore-starring body horror hit The Substance, Quaid delivers yet another devilish performance as a cunning, manipulative man who claims he wants to come clean about his heinous deeds—but in reality, may just be using the opportunity to claw his way back into his daughter’s life.
The show also stars David Harewood as “Dr. Greg,” the charismatic yet calculating host of a daytime health and talk show very much in the vein of Dr. Phil. The story revolves around these intense prison interviews, where Melissa’s father claims he’ll finally reveal the identity of his last, unknown victim.
But is he actually telling the truth? Or is this all just another twisted game designed to pull his daughter back into his web? Looks like we’re about to find out.
James Wolk co-stars in the series as Ben Moore, Melissa’s husband, while Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, and Benjamin Mackey round out the cast.
Based on Melissa’s true-crime podcast Happy Face by iHeartRadio and her memoir Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter, which she co-wrote with M. Bridget Cook, the series is spearheaded by writer-producer Jennifer Cacicio (Your Honor) as showrunner.
Happy Face is set to debut with a two-episode premiere starting Thursday, March 20th, only on Paramount+.
Here’s the show’s official synopsis:
Inspired by a true-life story, Happy Face follows Melissa Reed (Annaleigh Ashford), daughter of Keith Jesperson, also known as “the Happy Face Killer” (Dennis Quaid). After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. In the process, she faces a reckoning of her own identity.
