MADISON MEEKS
Editor-in-Chief
mvm7037@psu.edu

PORTLAND, ORE. Paramount Plus has cast a well-known face in a new series. Dennis Quaid, a well-known actor for his roles in “The Parent Trap” and “The Day After Tomorrow,” will be playing notorious serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the “Happy Face Killer.”.
This news comes after the January announcement that one of Jesperson’s three kids, Melissa Moore, will be played by actress Annaleigh Ashford. Paramount has stated that the true crime drama “Happy Face” will be based on Moore’s experience during the time of her father’s killings, her podcast also titled “Happy Face,” and her autobiography “Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter.”.
According to Paramount Plus and CBS6, the synopsis of the new series is “After decades of no contact, he finally 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 “Happy Face Killer” is one of the most known cases in true crime history. Jesperson had confessed to murdering eight women between 1990 and 1995. He confessed to the murders only after he got arrested as a suspect in a woman’s murder in Washington. He was named the “Happy Face Killer” by police and the media after he sent them anonymous letters with smiley faces drawn on them.
According to CBS6, one of his victims, referred to as Claudia by police, has remained unidentified. She is the only one of his victims who has not yet been identified. Police have made progress in her case since investigators released sketches of what the woman looked like in January. The killer’s other victims were found in the states of Florida, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Oregon. He is currently serving a few life sentences in a penitentiary in Oregon.
The production of the new series starring Dennis Quaid will begin filming in Vancouver soon and is slated to premiere on Paramount Plus in 2025.