#Happy Face: Dennis Quaid Joins Annaleigh Ashford for Killer Role in Paramount+ Series

(Photo: Derrek Kupish)

Happy Face has cast its killer. Dennis Quaid is joining Annaleigh Ashford on the Paramount+ project, which was ordered to series back in November 2021. It has been delayed for various reasons.

The new series is inspired by the Happy Face podcast and the book Shattered Silence by Melissa Jesperson-Moore with M. Bridget Cook. The eight-episode first season will revolve around Melissa (Ashford), who discovers her father (Quaid) is a serial killer.

Paramount+ revealed more about the series in a press release.

Paramount+ today announced that Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe-nominated actor Dennis Quaid (LAWMEN: BASS REEVES, The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow) will star in the new original drama series HAPPY FACE. Quaid will play the titular role of the real-life serial killer notoriously called “Happy Face” because of the smiley faces he drew on evidence where he bragged about his crimes. He joins the cast alongside previously announced actress Annaleigh Ashford, who is set to star as his daughter, Melissa. The eight-episode first season will begin production this spring in Vancouver and premiere exclusively on Paramount+ globally in 2025.

HAPPY FACE is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa Moore; the critically acclaimed Happy Face podcast from iHeartPodcasts and Moore; and the autobiography Shattered Silence, written by Moore with M. Bridget Cook.

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. 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.

Quaid is an Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe® nominee who’s known for his roles in hit films such as The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow, Traffic, Vantage Point, Frequency, The Parent Trap, Soul Surfer, The Right Stuff, Breaking Away, Midway and many more. His recent credits include a starring role in the hit Paramount+ series LAWMEN: BASS REEVES. Quaid recently completed production portraying the 40th president of the United States in the biopic Reagan, produced by Mark Joseph and directed by Sean McNamara.

HAPPY FACE is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. Michael Showalter (The Dropout, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) will direct the first episode. HAPPY FACE is executive produced by Jennifer Cacicio – who also serves as showrunner – and Robert and Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Showalter and Jordana Mollick. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Happy Face will arrive on the streaming service in 2025. The exact premiere date and additional casting will be announced later.

What do you think? Are you planning to check out this new Paramount+ series when it eventually arrives?