How ‘Happy Face’ Differs From the Real-Life Serial Killer Case
Melissa Moore executive produces the Paramount+ series based on her podcast about her father, Keith Jesperson The post How ‘Happy Face’ Differs From the Real-Life Serial Killer Case appeared first on TheWrap.
The Paramount+ series “Happy Face” changes a number of key details in the real-life story about serial killer Keith Jesperson and how his daughter, Melissa Moore, decides to go public with his identity.
“Everything is fictionalized except for Melissa and her real story,” Annaleigh Ashford, who plays Melissa, told TheWrap.
Moore, whose “Happy Face” podcast and book “Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter,” inspired the new TV series also spoke to TheWrap about some of the ways the show differs from the real story.
Melissa has a different last name on the series
In the series, the character’s last name is Reed and not Moore. The first names of her children and husband are also different.
Showrunner Jennifer Cacicio told TheWrap that the striking resemblance between the two women was not the primary consideration in casting Ashford, whose previous TV shows include “Welcome to Chippendales,” “Masters of Sex” and “B Positive.”
“I will give [series co-creator] Michelle King credit for being the first one to mention Annaleigh, very early on, before we even pitched to CBS,” Cacicio said. “She was always someone in the back of our minds.”
Moore did not have a hand in the casting, but said, “I really connected with how she portrayed who I am as a person. I was really astonished at that. That was surreal.”
Dr. Greg stands in for Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz
In the series, Melissa Reed is a makeup artist for the fictitious Dr. Greg (David Harewood) and decides to go public that her father is Keith Jesperson in a tense live segment. In real life, Moore made the revelation on “Dr. Phil” and later appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show,” as well as numerous true crime docuseries.
Melissa’s daughter did not become popular because of her serial killer grandpa
In the series, Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) accidentally hears her mother talking about Keith and decides to share the information with some of the popular girls at school. With her newfound notoriety, they welcome her into their circle and even help her sell a piece of her grandfather’s art online.
In real life, Moore’s daughter was bullied after the revelation, just as her mother was when Keith was first arrested. “Weirdly enough, because of the series, the girls that bullied her in high school are trying to follow her again on Instagram,” Moore said of her daughter, who is now 23.
The scene where a waiter tells Melissa about the murderer in her own family did not happen like that
In the series, Melissa attends a dinner at Dr. Greg’s house, one of the catering crew approaches her and confides in her that her own brother is a murderer too. Melissa hugs her and tells her she is not alone.
Moore told TheWrap that this scene was typical of her encounters with the public, who see her as someone they can finally confess their dark family history to.
“There’s even more bizarre encounters that I’ve had, like people tell you their life story. To know this about me already makes it so I think they feel safe. I don’t have any judgment for them, because they can’t. You can’t choose what your parent does,” said Moore.
The first three episodes of “Happy Face” are now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes premiere weekly on Thursdays.
The post How ‘Happy Face’ Differs From the Real-Life Serial Killer Case appeared first on TheWrap.
