Paramount+ is turning true crime into must-watch drama with Happy Face, a chilling new series inspired by Melissa G. Moore’s real-life story.
Starring Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid, the show unpacks the harrowing aftermath of discovering your father is a notorious serial killer.
When the man she’s spent years trying to forget forces his way back into her life, Melissa is thrown into a desperate race to stop an innocent man’s execution—all while reckoning with the dark legacy her father left behind.
From Paramount Australia:
Paramount+ has revealed the official trailer for its highly anticipated original drama series Happy Face.
Happy Face features a star-studded cast, including Emmy-nominated and Tony Award-winning actress Annaleigh Ashford, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe-nominated actor Dennis Quaid and series regulars James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne and Benjamin Mackey.
Happy Face is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa G. Moore; the critically acclaimed Happy Face podcast from iHeartPodcasts and Moore; and the autobiography Shattered Silence, written by Moore with M. Bridget Cook.
At 15, Moore discovered that her beloved father was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face. As an adult, she has changed her name and guarded her secret while her father has been serving life in prison.
Jumping off from Moore’s true-life story, the Paramount+ Original Series follows Melissa (Ashford) and her incarcerated father, known as the Happy Face Killer (Quaid). 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.
Happy Face is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. Jennifer Cacicio (Your Honor, Shooter) serves as showrunner for the series and executive producer alongside Robert and Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa G. Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Michael Showalter and Jordana Mollick. Michael Showalter (The Dropout, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) also directed the first episode.
The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
The eight-episode season will premiere on Friday, 21 March with two episodes exclusively on Paramount+. Following the premiere, new episodes will drop weekly on Fridays, with the season finale on Friday, 2 May.
