Dennis Quaid (Lawmen: Bass Reeves) is slipping into the world of a serial killer who used a smiley face as his calling card for Paramount+’s Happy Face. Emmy nominee Quaid will star as the Happy Face Killer in the streamer’s new drama, inspired by the killer’s daughter Melissa Moore’s autobiography, Shattered Silence, and her Happy Face podcast.
Emmy nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Welcome to Chippendales) was previously announced to play Melissa. Filming is expected to get underway this spring, with Paramount+ targeting a 2025 premiere for the eight-episode season.
“Happy Face for Paramount+ jumps 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,” reads Paramount+’s synopsis. “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.”
Jennifer Cacicio is serving as showrunner and will executive produce along with Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, and Jordana Mollick. Michael Showalter (The Dropout, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) is directing the first episode and will also executive produce.
The true crime drama is being produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts, and Semi-Formal Productions.
Dennis Quaid earned an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie category for playing Bill Clinton in The Special Relationship. Quaid’s credits also include The Hill, Full Circle, On a Wing and a Prayer, The Long Game, and Blue Miracle. He recently wrapped production on Reagan, directed by Sean McNamara, playing the 40th President.
