Inside Happy Face: The Cast and Creators Reflect on Trauma, Responsibility, and Telling the Truth

As Happy Face premiered on Paramount+, its story marked a new path in the true crime genre — one told through the eyes of a serial killer’s daughter.

Based on the life of Melissa Moore, daughter of Keith Jesperson, the series quickly drew attention for its refusal to glorify violence and its emotional lens on the fallout.

While the initial headlines focus on the show’s premise, the cast and creative team shared with TV Fanatic what it meant to step into this world and how it personally affected them.

Melissa Moore on Being Connected to Other Families

“While I have my own story to tell, it’s interconnected to these other families,” Moore said.

“And so there’s a sense of responsibility of how I tell my story, because when I tell my story inadvertently, my father gets attention, which means their loved one’s killer gets attention, and then that can be resentful. We’re not singular storytellers; we’re all connected.”

Jennifer Cacicio on Bringing Keith Jesperson to the Screen

“I always felt clarity that it was Melissa’s story, and I didn’t really want to go into Keith’s POV excessively,” showrunner Jennifer Cacicio explained. “We really only went into his POV when it had to do with Melissa’s story or was impacting Melissa’s story in one way or another.”

She added, “Basically everything in the story is from Melissa, like she shared her father’s letters, so that’s how I built the Keith character and everything she wrote in her book and her podcast. We’ve done our best to not glorify him, but yes, he is in the story, he’s a big part of it, and he kind of looms over scenes in the story even when he’s not there.”

Dennis Quaid on Choosing the Role

“Really, he’s easy to tell you the truth,” Quaid said of Jesperson. “Because he thinks he’s this master manipulator, but he’s easy psychologically. Because serial killers, to do what he’s done, he doesn’t really have emotion.”

Quaid didn’t meet Jesperson for the role, noting, “This is her story told from her point of view and mostly rightly so. I think she knows him better than he knows himself.”

He found the scenes between Melissa and her father the most powerful: “This thing that happens back and forth with them is just, it’s pretty wild.”

Annaleigh Ashford on Melissa’s Inner Struggle

“She has this beautiful gift of empathy and openness, and people open up to her and talk to her because she is so open of heart and open of spirit, which is ironic because she is so afraid of being like her dad or having his DNA,” Ashford said.

“She’s afraid of any of those traits showing up in her or in her family.”

That fear underscores a key theme of the show: “Is it nature or is it nurture? Right. And what does that feel like and look like?”

Ashford added, “While Melissa knows that she is not like her father, that is a struggle throughout the series that we will watch her examine. I think that she will forever be burdened with the crimes that her father committed.”

James Wolk on Playing Ben

“He’s a protector, right? And that’s what his focus is,” Wolk said of Melissa’s husband Ben.

“I started listening to the podcast and hearing how heinous the acts that Keith did were, and just allowing my body to take that in allowed me to carry myself a certain way on set when dealing with Melissa, when trying to protect her.”

“It literally made me fearful and wanting to protect my own children in the show. And so the source material allowed me to form Ben, who is this protector who will do anything at any cost to protect his family.”

Tamera Tomakili on Stepping Into True Crime

“Honestly, I am not the biggest true crime fan, but being able to step into this was one was me kind of overcoming my own fears and discomfort with this material,” said Tomakili, who plays Ivy.

“There’s so much about the true crime world that people are trying to understand and there’s a sense of safety in researching these characters.”

“What I loved about this show… was that it was centered on the victims and the family of these murderers. It felt more real, it felt more communal, it felt connected to the people who are actually having to live past or live through a lot of these crimes.”

Benjamin Mackey on Taking It Seriously

When asked how he prepared for emotional scenes, Benjamin Mackey, who plays Melissa’s son Max, shared: “Just get in the moment in the trailer. I’m getting ready. I’m rehearsing. And I’m thinking of the scene, and I’m thinking, okay, I can do this.”

Even at a young age, Mackey understood the seriousness of the subject matter. “It’s been all this story for the real people, and it’s been a lot.”

A Series That Doesn’t Look Away

Happy Face may be part of the true crime boom, but it refuses to follow the usual formula. Its power lies in who tells the story, how it’s framed, and who it’s really about. 

As Melissa Moore noted, “It’s easier [than telling my own story directly] because I feel like the essence is there, and it gives freedom to show the behind-the-scenes that I could never show anybody else in any other medium.”

In amplifying the voices of those affected — and not those who caused the harm — Happy Face redefines what a true crime series can be.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate writers and contributors to share their voices across a variety of different articles. Do you think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.