Paramount Plus has added true crime drama Happy Face, inspired by the podcast and book by the daughter of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson.
The eight-parter, added globally to the streaming service on Thursday, March 20, tells the chilling story of how the evil trucker (The Big Easy’s Dennis Quaid), who is currently serving life for a shocking 1990s murder spree, forced his way back into his daughter’s life decades after being exposed as the "Happy Face Killer". The nickname was given because he signed smiley faces on his many letters to police and media.
“I wasn't necessarily interested in playing a serial killer, but what drew me to it was what the show’s about — the relationship between Jesperson and his daughter,” says Dennis Quaid. “Melissa was a little girl back then, and he was a doting father at the same time that he was committing these murders. When he was caught, Melissa had to reconcile the fact that her father was a serial killer."
Melissa was just 15 when she found out her once-beloved father had murdered at least eight women over five years. Years later, we meet Melissa (Broadway star Annaleigh Ashford), who lives with her husband Ben (James Wolk). He also knows the truth, although her children are clueless about their family’s past.
When an imprisoned Jesperson tracks down his daughter to a TV talk show where she works, he calls charismatic host Dr. Greg (David Harewood), claiming he has a long-held secret to confess, and Melissa becomes determined to uncover if an innocent man will be put to death for a crime that her father committed.
The series follows Melissa's troubled quest to understand her dad's double life as she visits him in an Oregon jail with Dr. Greg's justice-seeking true-crime producer, Ivy (Tamera Tomakili), while flashbacks also reveal the intricate father-daughter relationship at the heart of the drama.
Talking to the LA Times, showrunner Jennifer Cacicio explained the appeal of making the series: "I first heard this story through Melissa's podcast, 'Happy Face.' I was writing on Your Honor [Netflix] at the time and listened to the first episode on my commute into work, then immediately called my agent and told her I needed the rights."
She added: "The idea of creating a serial-killer show told through the daughter’s POV was something I was so excited to do.”
Melissa Jesperson-Moore's book about her experience is called "Shattered Silence" and was originally published in 2009.
The first two episodes dropped on Thursday, March 20 on Paramount Plus, and then episodes will drop weekly until the finale airs on May 1. There's a free trial of Paramount Plus if you want to learn more about the platform first.
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