Dennis Quaid continues his creepy streak in Paramount Plus' Happy Face trailer

If you thought Dennis Quaid was well deployed as the creepy villain in The Substance or The Intruder (or Reagan… just kidding!), then here's some good news. The actor will continue his creepy streak in Happy Face, based on the real-life story of the Happy Face Killer and his daughter, played by Annaleigh Ashford. The Happy Face trailer previews more unsettling scariness from Quaid ahead of the Paramount+ series premiere on March 20.

Happy Face is inspired by the true crime tale of the titular serial killer and his daughter Melissa G. Moore's experience growing up in his shadow, as recounted in the Happy Face podcast and her autobiography Shattered Silence: The Untold Story Of A Serial Killer's Daughter. The television adaptation "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," per the series synopsis. "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."



The Happy Face trailer blends fact and fiction: the real-life Melissa spoke about her life on Dr. Phil, while the fictional version appears uneasy on The Dr. Greg Show. "Every violent act is a rock dropped in water," Ashford intones in voiceover. "If you stay silent, the ripples of trauma just keep pulling everyone they touch underneath." Jennifer Cacicio serves as showrunner for the series, which is executive produced by The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King, among others. Michael Showalter (The Dropout, The Idea Of You) is also on board as an executive producer in addition to directing the first episode.