Paramount’s engrossing new drama seriesHappy Faceis inspired by the murders ofthe real-life Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, but the series is not necessarily striving for point-by-point accuracy. The series focuses on his daughter Melissa, and the impact that his horrific crimes had on the lives of her, her loved ones, his victims, and their families. The show is based off the real autobiography and subsequent podcast of Jesperson’s actual daughter, Melissa Moore, so there are plenty of first-hand details littered throughout the show’s steadily-progressing plot.
It was clear bythe end of episode 2 ofHappy Facethat the show’s main story arc was not going to stick entirely to the facts. It’s important to note that the drama series is only inspired by the real people, places, and incidents surrounding Keith Jesperson; it is not intended to be a retelling of events. Virtually all characters based on real people have had their names changed, and as a result, it can be difficult to parse out what scenes are based in reality and which are dramatizations created solely for the sake of making good television.
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Happy Face Episode 3 Review: I Like The Character-Driven Story, But I’m Still Waiting For Some Action & More Of Dennis Quaid’s Keith
Melissa deals with the fallout of her talk show appearance and her father’s plans ramp up in Happy Face episode 3, “Was It Worth It?”.
5Melissa Never Stirred Up A Media Frenzy About A Ninth Murder
While Jesperson Continues To Be Investigated, He Has Never Been Connected With A Ninth Victim
For anyone watchingHappy Face, it’s important to remember that the modern-day plot of the show is fictional. There was never a mysterious, unresolved ninth murder, so everything spinning off from that central concept is mostly untrue. However, the plot does mix in a number of real details as it unravels its mystery, exaggerating some and holding to the truth with others. For example, Melissa really did find her father killing cats in the manner she describes to the guests at Dr. Greg’s dinner party at the beginning of episode 3.
A young couple falsely confessed to Keith’s first confirmed murder, which prompted him to begin writing the smiley-face-signed letters to the media and police that earned him his menacing moniker.
However, there was never any media frenzy (complete with a trending hashtag) surrounding the imprisonment of a man wrongly convicted for one of Keith’s murders. That idea is somewhat based in reality, as a young couple falsely confessed to Keith’s first confirmed murder, which prompted him to begin writing the smiley-face-signed letters to the media and police that earned him his menacing moniker. Similarly, the real Melissa did go on a circuit of talk shows discussing her father’s crimes and their impact on her life, but at no point was it related to a ninth murder.
Image via Paramount+
In episode 3 ofHappy Face, Ivy pores over dozens of unread letters from Keith that Melissa had stockpiled through the years, hoping to find a confession about the ninth murder, as Keith had hinted to Melissa may exist in the letters. In reality, Keith Jesperson was and still is a prolific letter-writer, and his daughter Melissa does have many letters from him saved. However, many of them remain unread, and those that have been read are typically vetted by her husband first to keep her insulated from his most diabolical ravings, per herHappy Facepodcast.
The subplot about Melissa’s high-school-aged daughter Hazel and her fascination with her grandfather is almost entirely fictional. In reality, Melissa Moore’s daughter Aspen learned about her grandfather when she was 10, not as a high school student as she does in the show. She has never desired any sort of relationship with her grandfather, and never developed a fascination with his art as Hazel does. It was likely included in the show as a representation of Melissa’s fears about her father, that in the course of manipulating her he could poison her family’s lives as well.
2Melissa’s Meeting With The Son Of Her Father’s Victim Was Very Different
She Did Have A Face-To-Face, But It Was Far More Controlled And Pleasant
The scene in episode 3 that shows Ashton McBride, the son of Keith Jesperson’s final victim, attacking his mother’s killer,portrayed by Dennis Quaid, in court is not quite as dramatic as the show makes it out to be. The real son of his final victim (Julie Winningham), Don Findlay, did in fact confront him in court and called for the death penalty. Likewise, the real Melissa Moore did meet with Findlay in person at one point, although it played out far differently than is shown inHappy Face.
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Per herHappy Facepodcast, Melissa Moore claims that producers on a show she was working on,Monster In My Family, helped her set up a meeting with Don. They informed her that he had actually vilified her in his head, and may have intended to harm her at one point, which is likely where the explosive confrontation at her house depicted in episode 3 originated. In reality, Melissa and Don met for the first time at a seaside café, and their peaceful conversation began with a tearful hug instead of rage.
The notion that Keith Jesperson had a secret cellphone that he used to stay in contact with Melissa is likely a pure dramatization for the sake ofHappy Face. It’s intended to keep the show’s two stars in contact, and showcase how Keith was still trying to manipulate Melissa from prison. In reality, Melissa Moore does characterize her post-confession relationship with her father that way, but it occurred far earlier in her life’s timeline than depicted in the show. The real Melissa Moore hasn’t had meaningful contact with her father in more than a decade.
