'Happy Face': Dennis Quaid to play killer in Paramount+ series

Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Dennis Quaid will star in the new Paramount+ series Happy Face.

Paramount+ said in a press release Friday that Quaid, 69, will play the real-life serial killer known as "Happy Face" because of the smiley faces he drew on evidence where he bragged about his crimes.

Quaid joins Annaleigh Ashford, who was previously announced to play Happy Face's daughter, Melissa Moore.

Happy Face is inspired by the true story of Moore, which was previously explored in her autobiography Shattered Silence written with M. Bridget Cook and her Happy Face podcast with iHeartMedia.

In the TV series, Happy Face (Quaid) is an incarcerated serial killer who is also Melissa's (Ashford) once-beloved father. 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," an official synopsis reads.

Happy Face is produced by CBS Studios in association with King Size Productions, iHeartPodcasts and Semi-Formal Productions. Michael Showalter will direct the first episode, with Jennifer Cacicio to serve as showrunner and executive producer.

The series will begin production in the spring.

Quaid recently appeared in the Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves.