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Happy Face is based on the real-life titular American killer in the 1990s, who who raped and murdered eight women, in the 1990s, leading to his daughter starting a podcast in 2018, on which this series is based.
It opens with Melissa’s (Annaleigh Ashford) father, Keith Jesperson (Dennis Quaid – The Substance), contacting her by letter from jail, yet she hasn’t wanted to have had anything to do with him for some time, even to the point of telling her children that he’s dead.
However, he claims he info about a particular murder that he’s previously kept to himself, and wants to talk to her for the purposes of getting him on Dr. Greg’s (David Harewood – The Abominable Snow Baby) TV show, so he can get some publicity and kudos within jail.
He enthuses about his “Death Game”, in which he would choke women until they pass out, then torture them again when they wake up, even going into further detail about how he strangled a woman to death. Ewww….
Plus, when he signs every letter, he does so with a ‘happy face’ symbol.
Of course, the sensible thing to do with be to run a country mile from anything to do with him, but the death row sentence for a potentially innocent inmate might just hang in the balance.
This drama also jumps back and forth in time from the ‘present day’ to when Melissa was a child and having to deal with the then-new consequences of having a murderer for a father.
Only two episodes have been released so far, and while more were available for preview, I’ve just seen these two as I type. Quaid is good, but I’m not sure this is a series I want to stick with. I enjoy a good drama, but I’m not keen on true crime podcasts, so it’s rather taking a direction I wasn’t expecting.
Thanks to our friends at Paramount+ for the screener prior to release.
Happy Face is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Paramount+ from tomorrow. There are two episodes initially, with further episodes added weekly, up to a total of eight.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 45-60 minutes per episode (8 episodes)
Release date: March 20th 2025
Studio: Paramount+
Format: 1.78:1
Series Directors: Darren Grant, Jennifer Getzinger, Ramaa Mosley, Steven Piet, Michael Showalter
Writers: Adam Toltzis, Jennifer Cacicio, Andrew Gettens, Lauren MacKenzie, Sal Calleros, Inda Craig-Galván, Tiffany Ezuma, Brandi Nicole, Erica Saleh, Michelle King, Robert King
Music: Ariel Marx
Cast:
Melissa: Annaleigh Ashford
Happy Face (aka Keith Jesperson): Dennis Quaid
Ben: James Wolk
Hazel: Khiyla Aynne
Max: Benjamin Mackey
Ivy: Tamera Tomakili
Tyler: Connor Paton
Josh: River Codack
Dr. Greg: David Harewood
Chave: Philip Granger
Victoria: Zara Nikou Sichani
Renee: Jennifer Spence
Joyce: Marci T House
Summer: Ava Telek
June: Kathleen Duborg
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.