Happy Face | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Inspired by |
|
Developed by |
|
Showrunner | Jennifer Cacicio |
Written by | Jennifer Cacicio |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Production location | Canada |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Paramount+ |
Happy Face is an upcoming American true crime drama television series. It is a series adaptation of the iHeartPodcasts's 2018 true-crime Happy Face by Melissa Moore, and her 2009 autobiography Shattered Silence, co-written with M. Bridget Cook.
It stars Dennis Quaid in the titular role, alongside Annaleigh Ashford, James Wolk and David Harewood. It is set to stream globally on Paramount+ in 2025.
In September 2020, it was reported that Jennifer Cacicio, Robert and Michelle King were in development for CBS All Access of a series based on Keith Hunter Jesperson's (Happy Face killer) daughter Melissa Moore's true-crime iHeartPodcasts Happy Face, and her autobiography Shattered Silence, co-written with M. Bridget Cook. [3]
In October 2021, Paramount+ greenlit the series written by Jennifer Cacicio and produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. [4] Michael Showalter also executive produced and directed the first episode. [5]
In February 2024, Dennis Quaid signed on to play the Happy Face killer and Annaleigh Ashford as his daughter Melissa Moore. [5] The following month, James Wolk was cast to play Melissa's husband, and Tamera Tomakili as Ivy. [6] [7] David Harewood signed on to play Dr. Greg, star of the daytime health and talk show, The Dr. Greg Show. [1]
Principal photography began on March 19 and is expected to conclude on June 19, 2024. [8] [1]
Happy Face is set to be released with eight episodes globally in 2025 on Paramount+ through Paramount Global Content Distribution. [5]
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor and gospel singer. He is known for his leading man roles in film and television. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.
Keith Hunter Jesperson is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child.
Annaleigh Ashford is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her early roles on Broadway include in the musicals Wicked (2007), Legally Blonde (2007), and Hair (2010). She received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Essie Carmichael in You Can't Take It With You (2014–2015). Her other Tony-nominated roles include Lauren in Kinky Boots (2013) and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023). She also starred in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George (2017).
Robert King is an American film and television writer and producer. He is married to Michelle King, who is also his writing partner. The couple created the legal drama series The Good Wife (2009–16), which earned them a Writers Guild of America Award; its spin-off The Good Fight (2017–2022); the comedy-drama BrainDead (2016); the supernatural drama Evil (2019–present); and the police drama Elsbeth (2024–present).
Michelle King is an American television writer and producer. She is married to Robert King, who is also her writing partner. The couple created the legal drama series The Good Wife, which earned them a Writers Guild of America Award. They have also created the comedy-drama BrainDead.
James Wolk is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the CBS comedy series The Crazy Ones (2013–2014), the AMC period drama series Mad Men (2013–2014), the CBS drama thriller series Zoo (2015–2017), the CBS All Access psychological thriller series Tell Me a Story (2018–2019), and the HBO superhero limited series Watchmen (2019).
Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.
Damon Jamal Gupton is an American actor and orchestral conductor, best known for his series regular roles as Charles Foster on Deadline, Evrard Velerio on Prime Suspect, Adam Page on The Divide, Detective Cal Brown on The Player, Deputy Chief Henderson on Black Lightning, and SSA Stephen Walker on Criminal Minds. He has also co-starred in the films The Last Airbender (2010), Whiplash (2014), and La La Land (2016).
Goliath is an American legal drama television series by Amazon Studios. The show was commissioned with a straight-to-series order of eight episodes on December 1, 2015 and premiered on October 13, 2016, on Amazon Prime Video. On February 15, 2017, Amazon announced the series had been renewed for a second season and confirmed that Clyde Phillips was joining the series as showrunner. The trailer for season 2 was released on May 1, 2018. Season 2, consisting of eight episodes, was released on June 15, 2018. On December 11, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on October 4, 2019. On November 14, 2019, Amazon announced the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, which premiered on September 24, 2021.
Why Women Kill is an American dark comedy anthology television series created by Marc Cherry, which depicts the events leading to deaths caused by women. The first season, which premiered on August 15, 2019, on CBS All Access, consists of 10 episodes and is set in multiple time periods. The second season, also containing 10 episodes, premiered on June 3, 2021 on Paramount+, and changes its focus to a single time period. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season. However, it was scrapped before production could begin in July 2022.
Evil is an American supernatural drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King that premiered on September 26, 2019, on CBS, before moving to Paramount+ for subsequent seasons. It features an ensemble cast led by Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi as three individuals from vastly different backgrounds who are tasked by the Catholic Church to investigate possible supernatural incidents.
Dr. Death is an American true crime drama anthology television series created by Patrick Macmanus, based on the podcast of the same name. It premiered on Peacock on July 15, 2021. In July 2022, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on December 21, 2023.
Landman is an upcoming American drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan, based on the Boomtown podcast by Christian Wallace. It is set to premiere on Paramount+.
Welcome to Chippendales is an American biographical drama television miniseries created by Robert Siegel inspired by the book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders by K. Scot Macdonald and Patrick MontesDeOca. It stars Kumail Nanjiani as Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales.
The sixteenth season of the American police procedural crime drama television series Criminal Minds, subtitled Evolution, follows members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they are faced with a network of serial killers built during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a revival of the 2005 series which ended in 2020. The season premiered on November 24, 2022 on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other regions on November 25, 2022.
Momona Tamada is a Canadian actress known for her role as Claudia Kishi in the television adaptation of The Baby-Sitters Club and her role as Ty Lee in the 2024 live-action of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Certain American television events in 2025 have been scheduled. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and re-brandings; stations changing or adding their network affiliations; information on controversies, business transactions, and carriage disputes; and deaths of those who made various contributions to the medium.
Happy Face at IMDb