Dennis Quaid is set to star in Paramount+’s upcoming drama thriller series Happy Face, and he will take on the role of the real-life serial killer notoriously called “Happy Face” because of the smiley faces he would draw on evidence where he bragged about his crimes. He will star alongside Annaleigh Ashford who will be playing his daughter, Melissa, in the series.
The series is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa Moore; the Happy Face podcast from iHeartPodcasts and Moore; and the autobiography Shattered Silence, written by Moore with M. Bridget Cook.
In the series, “jumping 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 decades of no contact, he finally finds a way to force himself back into his daughter’s life. In a race against the clock, Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. Throughout, she discovers the impact her father had on his victims’ families and must face a reckoning of her own identity.”
This sounds like it’ll be quite an intense series. I’m fascinated by these kinds of stories, though, and this one sounds very interesting. I’ll definitely be listening to the podcast before the series is released.
The eight-episode first season of Happy Face is being developed by showrunner Jennifer Cacicio and it’s being produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. The series will begin filming this spring in Vancouver and premiere on Paramount+ in 2025.
