Post Holiday Blues Streaming 25' - Happy Face - Miniseries

Happy Face is adapted from the 2018 podcast Happy Face by Melissa Moore, and her 2009 autobiography Shattered Silence, co-written with M. Bridget Cook. 

The Paramount+ miniseries stars Annaleigh Ashford, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, Benjamin Mackey, & Dennis Quaid.

Landing on Paramount+ back in March. Inspired by a true-life story, Happy Face follows Melissa Reed (Annaleigh Ashford), daughter of Keith Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer (Dennis Quaid).

After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. In the process, she faces a reckoning of her own identity.

The series concluded earlier this month after a short eight episode run.

The series kicks off with, Melissa Reed is the daughter of incarcerated serial killer Keith Jesperson, the "Happy Face killer", a connection that Melissa has hidden from her children and coworkers. 

One day Keith calls Melissa's boss, Dr. Greg, the host of a true crime television show, claiming that he wants to confess to an additional murder, but will only reveal information to Melissa in person. 

Melissa and the show's producer, Ivy Campbell, visit Keith in prison but he refuses to share any details beyond that he gifted a trampoline to Melissa after the murder. 

Melissa brings Ivy to her childhood home to visit her mother, June, who claims that Keith has sent people to harass her over the years. Ivy finds the trampoline, which was purchased in Texas. They question Keith again, and he describes the full murder sans the victim's name. 

Using details of Keith's story, Melissa and Ivy identify the victim as Heather Richmond, but learn that Heather's boyfriend Elijah has been convicted for the murder and is on death row. Melissa's daughter Hazel overhears her father Ben on the phone and learns that her grandfather is the Happy Face killer.  

So how does it all wrap up. Look for one thing, the show kinda ends on a dodgy cliffhanger. However it is a miniseries, so what was the point in this plot line.

Watch out spoilers from the finale, below.

Melissa, Ivy and Tyler review the footage of Heather and suspect that she was with Cody, a school friend, just before she died. 

Melissa follows a lead to Cody's family bar, where she finds the remains of Heather's guitar and is cornered by Carl, Cody's father, who confesses that he killed Heather, his anger triggered by Heather's song that was a confession of their adulterous relationship. 

Melissa's phone records Carl's confession and suicide, closing the case. Ben is remorseful and tries to cancel the deal to kill Keith; although Ben's message is not received in time, Keith collapses from a heart attack before he can be assaulted. 

Melissa visits Keith in the hospital and confronts him over his fake confession, which Keith claims he did in order to make Melissa a star. Melissa declares that their relationship is over for good. Hazel and Melissa reconcile. Melissa appears on Dr. Greg's show announcing that she'll be headlining a new segment on the show about true crime. 

Ben receives a call from Keith, who says that he knows that Ben tried to have him killed.

So was this worth the eight hour binge? Yes and no. It will not top my RATED list for the Post Holiday Blues Streaming 25' list. However it wasn't awful.

Paramount+ has been giving us some solid content lately. Like MobLand, Landman, Dexter: Original Sin & Sky+Med.

So whilst this has been the best Paramount+ title, I still recommend getting into the Network 10 affiliated streamer.