The True Story Behind ‘Woman of the Hour’ and the Dating Game Killer

IF YOU’VE NEVER heard of the “Dating Game Killer,” be prepared for a journey into a freakier-than-fiction true crime tale that might just put you off watching dating shows (for a while, anyway). The story of said killer, Rodney Alcala, is being revived in Netflix’s new movie Woman of the Hour (streaming October 18), which also happens to be the directorial debut from actress, singer, and overall Hollywood renaissance woman Anna Kendrick. She also stars and executive produces, because hey, Kendrick can.

Woman of the Hour follows an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles named Sheryl (Kendrick) and the serial killer Alcala, here played by Daniel Zovatto of It Follows. Kendrick’s character is a slight tweaking of Cheryl Bradshaw, the woman who actually appeared opposite Alcala on The Dating Game.

In real life, having already killed five people, Alcala appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game and won a date with none other than Bradshaw. The film tracks how a seemingly harmless and definitely goofy romantic game show, and the people involved, intersected with one of the most harrowing murder sprees in American history. It’s also about how a plucky would-be star navigates the potential dangers lurking in Hollywood—including the very man wooing her on national television.

Is Woman of the Hour based on a true story? Yes. Does it follow all the facts of the case? Well, not necessarily, though it mostly sticks to the core reality of what happened, along with some fictionalized departures and changed details and names. If you’ve never heard about the “Dating Game Killer” or the havoc he wreaked, or you’re curious to see what Kendrick does with this historically grisly moment, here’s an explainer on the true story that informed Netflix’s Woman of the Hour.

Who Was “Dating Game Killer” Rodney Alcala, and What Did He Do?

He might be better known to many as the “Dating Game Killer,” but the all-too-real Rodney Alcala was a prolific serial killer and sex offender. Born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor on August 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas, he joined the Army at age 17 but was discharged in 1964 amid allegations of sexual misconduct. After graduating from UCLA in 1968, having been connected by a witness to the rape and beating of eight-year-old Tali Shapiro, he fled to New York, where he adopted a new name, John Berger. There, he studied film, and worked as a photographer, security guard, and camp counselor.

In 1971, while in New York, he committed his first known murder of 23-year-old flight attendant Cornelia Crilley. She was bitten, sexually assaulted, and strangled to death, which would become gruesome signs of Alcala’s future crimes. He went on to murder five victims in California between 1977 and 1979. He’s also linked to a second killing in New York and another murder in Wyoming. While he’s officially tied to the murders of eight women and girls, the full extent of his killings is unknown, with authorities thinking he might have killed up to 130 people, according to the Associated Press.

In 1978, while in the middle of his California killing spree, Alcala was cast on The Dating Game for his looks and charm. Producers never did a background check on him. If they had, they would have discovered that he had already served 34 months in prison for the brutal assault of Shapiro.

Who Was Cheryl Bradshaw, and What Happened to Her?

Little is known about the real Cheryl Bradshaw, who appeared as the bachelorette looking for love on The Dating Game in 1978, per Entertainment Weekly. Asking questions of the three bachelors without being able to see them, she picked Alaca, who was introduced as a “successful photographer,” to be the lucky winner of a date with her.

So did she go on that date with the serial killer chasing her affections? Thankfully, no. Though initially charmed by his amusing answers, Bradshaw got a creepy sense once she met Alaca and stared him in the eye. “I started to feel ill,” she reportedly said in a 2012 interview. The show showered them with romantic perks—free tennis lessons and a trip to Magic Mountain—but when Alcala suggested hanging out, she turned him down. “I didn’t want to see him again.”

That wasn’t all: Dating Game producer Ellen Metzger remembered getting a call from Bradshaw in which she asked to get out of the promised date. “She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t go out with this guy,'” Metzger told 20/20. “‘There’s weird vibes that are coming off of him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?’ And of course, I said, ‘No.'”

What Ultimately Happened to Rodney Alcala?

In the end, Alcala faced justice, though not until he had caused more dismay to his victims and their families. In 1979, Alcala killed his final known victim, 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, kidnapping her as she walked home from a ballet class. A sketch released by police led to Alcala being arrested on July 24, 1979. What sealed his fate: His parole officer saw the resemblance from the sketch and informed authorities.

Alcala was convicted of murdering Samsoe in 1980 and sentenced to death, but the conviction was overturned due to a legal technicality. He was retried in 1986 and found guilty again. The second conviction was overturned, too, in 2001, reportedly because of improper legal counsel. A third trial started in 2003 secured the DNA evidence needed to connect him to several of his murders. The trial ended up being drawn out over years, until Alcala was convicted on all five counts for his California murders in March 2010. He was sentenced to death for the third and last time. He was later convicted for the two New York murders in 2012.

Alcala served his prison time on death row in Corcoran, California. Awaiting execution, he died of natural causes on July 24, 2021, at age 77.