The new Paramount+ crime drama series Happy Face will premiere on March 20 with two episodes with individual drops to follow on Thursdays concluding on May 1. An eerie teaser trailer can be seen above.
The CBS Studios-produced Happy Face is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa Moore; the 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.
Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid lead the Happy Face cast, joined by series regulars James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne and Benjamin Mackey.
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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.
Watch the eerie trailer above.