First look at ‘Happy Face,’ TV series about killer who confessed in letters to The Oregonian

The streaming service Paramount Plus has released the first trailer for “Happy Face,” the TV series inspired by events surrounding a notorious true-crime case with a connection to Oregon. “Happy Face” is inspired by the experiences of Melissa G. Moore, who discovered at age 15 that her father was Keith Jesperson, the serial killer who became known as “Happy Face,” or the “Happy Face Killer.”

Longtime Oregonians may recall that Jesperson’s nickname came about because of the smiley face signatures included in anonymous letters Jesperson wrote to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and to The Oregonian, in which Jesperson confessed to killing several victims, including women from Oregon. In 1994, The Oregonian printed a five-part series about the “Happy Face Killer,” and the confessions.

Jesperson is serving a life sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

Annaleigh Ashford stars as Moore in the “Happy Face” TV series, and Dennis Quaid plays Jesperson. The series, which filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, premieres with two episodes March 20 on Paramount Plus.

According to the Paramount Plus announcement, “Happy Face” tells the story of what happens when, after decades of not being in contact, Jesperson, who is now incarcerated, “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.”

The series is inspired by the “Happy Face” podcast, and the book, “Shattered Silence,” by Moore and M. Bridget Cook. The series executive producers include Robert and Michelle King (“The Good Wife”).

The “Happy Face” cast also includes James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne and Benjamin Mackey. Following the two-episode premiere on Paramount Plus on March 20, new episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays. The season finale will stream on May 1.