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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Mark Kennedy

'Happy Face' looks at ripple effects of true crime

TV Happy Face - (TM & © 2025 CBS Studios Inc. and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

The new Paramount+ series “Happy Face” has all the elements of a gripping true-crime yarn: A serial killer, his estranged daughter, a race to get an innocent man off death row. But perhaps the most intriguing part? How it examines the warping nature of true crime itself.

“I was less interested in the specific psychology of a serial killer or glorifying the murders or seeing violence against women on screen," says Jennifer Cacicio, executive producer and showrunner. "I just feel like we’ve seen that. I was very interested in making a true-crime show told through a different lens.”

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