Paramount+’s upcoming drama series Happy Face, from creator and executive producer Jennifer Cacicio and executive producers Robert and Michelle King, is rounding out its series regular cast by adding James Wolk and Tamera Tomakili. They join the previously-announced Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid.
Happy Face is inspired by the podcast by the same name from iHeartMedia and Melissa Moore, through her true story as chronicled in her autobiography Shattered Silence she wrote with M. Bridget Cook. As the story goes, Moore was 15 when she uncovered that her father was a serial killer, the serial killer known as “Happy Face,” because he would draw smiley faces on evidence to brag about the horrors he committed. In adulthood she changed her name kept her secret as her father has been serving his life sentence in prison. The logline further describes “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.”
Wolk plays Melissa’s conventionally attractive husband, a “bank manager by day, marathon-trainer by night.” He knows about Melissa’s past but believes that all the trauma and strain has been put to bed for good. This makes him understandably peeved when all that progress is interrupted, but becomes worried that Melissa is falling prey to her father’s conniving and sociopathic manipulations once again. Meanwhile Tomakili plays Ivy, a producer of the true crime portion of The Dr. Greg Show, where Melissa works as a makeup artist. “Calculating when she needs to be, caring when she wants to be,” she accompanies Melissa to an Oregon prison to carefully retrieve the secret of Melissa’s past.
Wolk has been in the Paramount+ family before, having starred on the first season CBS All Access’s thriller anthology series Tell Me a Story, though it is not currently available on the service. He also starred on linear CBS’s Zoo, which ran for three seasons, and the single-season The Crazy Ones, though it was produced by 20th Century Fox. Wolk’s most recent series regular role was NBC’s Ordinary Joe, which ran for one season. His other series regular roles include USA’s Political Animals and Fox’s short-lived Lone Star. His film work includes the recent The Boys in the Boat and the further back You Again. Tomakili’s breakout seems to have come as Earletha “Cookie” Kelly, Magic Johnson’s then-girlfriend and future wife in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. She also recurred on Starz’s Blindspotting, and appeared in Run the World and the film Fruitvale Station. Happy Face’s development began pre-rebrand in 2020 before being ordered to series post-rebrand. Cacicio also serves as a writer and is showrunner. The Kings executive produce under their King Size Productions banner alongside company executive Liz Glotzer, Moore herself, iHeartMedia’s Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, and Jordana Mollick. Michael Showalter will direct the first episode and executive produce as well. CBS Studios is the production studio thanks to their overall deal with the Kings. It will premiere on Paramount+ worldwide next year in 2025.
Sources: Deadline (1, 2)
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