Understanding our mother and father can generally really feel not possible, staring throughout a generational divide and an ocean of shared recollections that we see in another way from one another. Now think about how a lot more durable coming to grips with the complexity of your mum or dad can be in case your dad was an notorious serial killer. That is the premise of Happy Face, a brand new true crime drama from The Good Spouse creators Robert King and Michelle King.
Annaleigh Ashford, who not too long ago thrilled on Broadway because the murderous Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, stars as Melissa Reed. Melissa is a spouse, a mom, and knowledgeable make-up artist — and the haunted daughter of the Completely happy Face Killer, Keith Jesperson (The Substance‘s Dennis Quaid). Throughout the a long time since he was caught, they’ve been estranged. That’s, till he claims there was a ninth sufferer the cops by no means tied to him. However he’ll solely give particulars to his darling “Missy,” who simply so occurs to work for a chat present that is equally anticipating unique interviews with this serial killer.
It is a wealthy setup for against the law investigation thread. However what makes Completely happy Face a standout is how sequence showrunner Jennifer Cacicio balances the homicide thriller with character-driven drama that’s alarmingly relatable. Be warned: This present is ruthlessly gripping.
Completely happy Face is predicated on a real crime case and a survivor’s story.
Credit score: Ed Araquel / Paramount+
The primary episode of Completely happy Face particulars the broad strokes of Jesperson’s real-life crimes. A truck driver within the Nineties, he focused younger girls that he got here throughout in his travels, sexually assaulting after which fatally strangling them. His jarring nickname got here from the letters he despatched to the media as taunts. These menacing missives had been signed with a doodle of a contented face.
The troubling juxtaposition of Jesperson’s predilection for a cheerful exterior and a darkish coronary heart is mirrored brilliantly in Completely happy Face by way of Quaid’s unsettling efficiency. Within the present-day timeline, he’s downright jolly as he addresses Melissa, the grown daughter who’s being morally blackmailed to reconnect with him. But, regardless of the orange jumpsuit and the shackles, he is giving off a disarming dad vibe, at the same time as he speaks bluntly about his victims. In flashbacks to time earlier than he was caught, he appears outwardly like every blue-collared dad, his grin paired with a plaid shirt, playful angle, and a ball cap. Nonetheless, a vicious depth hits in bursts, as his eyes flash with panic or his smile twists with menace. Even within the current, that smile can slice like a blade.
Mashable Prime Tales
Credit score: Ed Araquel / Paramount+
Well, director Michael Showalter picks jaunty tunes with lyrics about having a “completely satisfied face,” which not solely displays Keith’s troubling duality but in addition play as a warning to his daughter. For years, she’s worn a contented face as a masks of normalcy, defending her husband (James Wolk) and youngsters from her dad and the disgrace and recriminations from these appalled by him. However as she’s pressured to wade again into their previous and her personal sense of guilt over the killings, songs urging to “placed on a contented face” really feel like they mock her — or worse — push her towards the harmful duplicity her dad used to cover in plain sight. Principally, for those who’re presenting one face to the world to cover one other, aren’t you inherently a menace?
Over the 4 episodes introduced to critics, Melissa grapples with the need to do proper, aiming to free a person she believes was wrongfully convicted of her dad’s homicide. However the present pulls inspiration Jesperson’s real-life daughter, Melissa G. Moore, who made a podcast (Happy Face) and co-wrote a e book (Shattered Silence) about her expertise. As such, this sequence additionally digs into the psychological challenges of processing her father’s reality and his crimes. What do they imply so far as who she is, who she is going to change into, and what she owes the world?
Completely happy Face explores true crime and private accountability.
Credit score: Katie Yu / Paramount+
This crime sequence explores remorse and redemption as its heroine reconnoiters her previous to save lots of another person’s future. However in doing so, she should sacrifice the anonymity that served as safety, maintaining her husband and youngsters away from the affect of her devilishly charming father. This makes each episode a meal for Ashford, whose heroine should leap from on a regular basis dramas like reprimanding her reckless teen daughter Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) to plunging into childhood artifacts for clues and staring down her father, whereas her co-workers look on.
See, making issues even extra difficult for Melissa is she’s the make-up artist for Dr. Greg, a Dr. Phil-like speak present that’s completely satisfied to use her familial tragedy for rankings. The producer assigned to her is Ivy (Tamera Tomakili), who’s hard-nosed relating to getting the story, but in addition at occasions the voice of purpose Melissa wants to drag her out of a self-focused spiral. By means of Ivy and the speak present, Completely happy Face takes a step again to soak up the difficult ethics round exploitation and spectacle in true crime. The 2 could have frank conversations about why persons are so fixated on this topic, and the way societal biases affect who’s solid because the heroes and villains, justly or not.
Past that, Completely happy Face explores how Melissa’s relationship along with her mother and father compares to her relationship along with her daughter. Flashbacks to Melissa’s teen years are framed to be parallel to Hazel’s expertise with bullies, but in addition in the way in which each Melissa and her personal mom are overwhelmed with the problem of dealing with the invention of a serial killer within the household tree. Positive, few of us could possibly relate to the latter. However with the opening episode, Cacicio’s writing and Showalter’s route so masterfully knit the material of this household — estranged and unusual as they could be — as to be joltingly acquainted. In informal conversations about dinner and grounding, goofy moments of getting caught off-guard whereas on a secretive cellphone name and impulsively shopping for treats to easy over a tough day, Melissa’s journey has sufficient tactile contact factors for viewers that we will not assist however be sucked into her story.
For her half, Ashford is a fascinating tour information by way of the present’s trauma, tragedy, and sharply witty moments of launch. She’s no-nonsense with out being stiff. Her eyes flash with the depth of her onscreen father, however carrying an agony and earnestness absent in his. Whereas the sequence’ first 4 episodes are thoughtfully plotted with shocking twists and gnarly revelations, it is Ashford’s grounded however riveting efficiency that makes them downright addictive. Her openness and frankness offers the air that something may occur subsequent. And whereas that is primarily based on a real story, midway by way of the primary season, I am unable to make certain the place this thriller present will find yourself. And that is rattling thrilling.
Completely happy Face was reviewed out its World Premiere on the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. The first two episodes will debut globally on Paramount+ on March 20, with new episodes airing each Thursday.
