Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor Dennis Quaid will play the Happy Face serial killer in the forthcoming Paramount+ series that shares the killer’s name.
Happy Face is inspired by the true-crime podcast Happy Face, as well as the autobiographical book Shattered Silence, penned by the real-life killer’s daughter Melissa Moore.
Tony-winning actress Annaleigh Ashford will play Melissa in the series.
The eight-episode streaming show centers on the Canadian-American murderer of at least eight women, who earned his moniker by leaving a smiley face in his messages to taunt the authorities, as well as his daughter, who was horrified to learn her once-beloved, now incarcerated dad was leading a double life.
CBS Studios teases, “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.”
The studio adds, “Throughout, she discovers the impact her father had on his victims’ families and must face a reckoning of her own identity.”
Happy Face goes into production this spring.
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