Happy Face Is The Chilling New Series That Asks If We’re Obsessed With True Crime
If you fancy yourself a true crime fan and are always on the lookout for new shows to watch and podcasts to listen to, the new Paramount+ series Happy Face is one you need to watch. Based on a true story, it follows a woman (Annaleigh Ashford) who suddenly discovers that her father (played by Dennis Quaid) is a serial killer known as ‘the Happy Face killer’. As she tries to process this information, she begins to question herself and whether she played a role by not stopping him sooner.
What is Happy Face about?
The series is inspired by the book Shattered Silence as well as the podcast Happy Face, and is a semi-fictionalised version of a real story. Aged 15, Melissa Moore (Ashfield), working as a makeup artist, makes the shocking discovery that her father is a violent serial killer. The real-life Keith Hunter Jesperson (Quaid) became a notorious figure in the media for his crimes and for drawing smiley faces on his victims. He was eventually arrested. This revelation in Melissa’s life obviously shakes her to the core, and she’s soon trying to reassess her life and looking for answers and self-reflection.
But she also finds herself contacted by her father, mailing letters to her in a torturous, threatening way. Melissa desperately tries to get him to leave her alone, but she is unable to stop him from trying to manipulate her, even when she confronts him in prison. It’s a series that raises questions about and tries to challenge how we approach and discuss true crime, plus, how people can become borderline obsessed with true stories. As Keith continues to pressure her, she eventually, as he desires, is forced to reveal to the world her father’s crimes on TV in a live talk show interview. Her father, meanwhile, remains behind bars, even as he watches her from a distance.
Who else stars, and where can I watch?
While Hunter Jesperson was a real-life serial killer who took the lives of eight people, Happy Face does tell a fictionalised story with plenty of elements that did not happen- though this is made clear. Other cast members who star across the show’s eight-episode run time include James Wolf (Watchmen) as Melissa’s husband Ben, alongside David Harewood (Homeland), Jennifer Spence (Lucky Hank), Patrick Gilmore (You Me Her) and Zabryna Garland (Gotham). The first two episodes have already been released on Paramount Plus and continue weekly on Thursdays for the rest of the series.
