‘Happy Face’ Trailer: Annaleigh Ashford & Dennis Quaid Come Face to Face (VIDEO)

All Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford) wants is to leave her past (specifically her father, a serial killer played by Dennis Quaid), in the past. Unfortunately on Happy Face, a new drama coming to Paramount+, that’s impossible.

The streaming service has released a trailer offering a look at the past and present for Melissa, as well as the tough position she is now in. Read on for more about that and everything else we know from Robert and Michelle King‘s latest series.

When will Happy Face premiere?

The first two episodes will begin streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday, March 20. Episodes will then drop weekly on Thursdays.

When is the Happy Face Season 1 finale?

The Season 1 finale will be available to stream on Thursday, May 1.

Who’s in the Happy Face cast?

In addition to Ashford and Quaid, Happy Face stars James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, and Benjamin Mackey.

The drama is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts, and Semi-Formal Productions. Jennifer Cacicio serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Robert and Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa G. Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Michael Showalter, and Jordana Mollick. Showalter also directed the first episode.

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Is Happy Face based on a true story?

It is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa G. Moore, the critically acclaimed Happy Face podcast from iHeartPodcasts and Moore, and the autobiography Shattered Silence, written by Moore with M. Bridget Cook. When Moore was 15, she discovered that her father was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face. She changed her name as an adult and guarded her secret with her father serving life in prison.

What is Happy Face about?

Jumping off from Moore’s true-life story, the series follows Melissa (Ashford) and her incarcerated father, the Happy Face Killer (Quaid). 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.

Is there a Happy Face trailer?

Yes, and you can watch it above. In it, Melissa calls the Oregon Department of Corrections and leaves a very clear message: “I’m going to say this slowly so you understand: Stay out of my life and stay away from me and my kids.” She then steps on the phone, destroying it. But she can’t hide from her connection to the Happy Face Killer when she’s the only one he’ll speak with, to share the victim he held back from his previous confession.

“He wasn’t always a monster. He became one. Before that, he was just … my dad,” Melissa says.

Watch the trailer to see them come face-to-face as she tries to get the information about this other victim. “You’re just like your old man,” he tells her. “I’m not like you at all,” she insists.

Happy Face, Series Premiere, Thursday, March 20, Paramount+