Is Netflix’s ‘Woman of the Hour’ a True Story? Inside the Movie Inspired by the Dating Game Killer

Netflix’s upcoming film Woman of the Hour hits the streamer on October 24, 2024, and features Anna Kendrick in her directorial debut. Anna, who also stars in the movie, plays Cheryl Bradshaw, a woman who wins a date with a serial killer. With the movie premiering soon, fans are curious whether Woman of the Hour is based on a true story.

Is Netflix’s ‘Woman of the Hour’ a True Story?

Woman of the Hour follows the true story of Cheryl Bradshaw, who appeared on the popular game show The Dating Game in 1978. During her episode, Cheryl won a date with a man named Rodney Alcala. Rodney would later go on to be known as the "Dating Game Killer" after he was convicted of seven grisly murders, although he may have ultimately committed over 100.

Anna’s film takes a different angle than simply focusing on Rodney and his crimes. There are also aspects of Woman of the Hour that have been fictionalized.

What Happened to the Dating Game Killer?

Before Rodney was caught by police, he would often lure women to remote locations by offering to take photos of them. His first victim, Tali Shapiro, was only 8 years old when Rodney offered her a ride home from school in Los Angeles. He, instead, took her to his apartment where he sexually assaulted and beat her. A witness called 911, and the police arrived within 10 minutes, where they found Tali with no clothes on and a severe head wound.

Rodney managed to evade the police and escaped to New York, where he attended New York University under a fake name. In 1972, two teenagers recognized Rodney on a wanted poster after he had worked as their counselor at a summer camp in New Hampshire, according to the OC Weekly. Rodney returned to the West Coast, where he was convicted of child molestation but was paroled in 1974.

Less than two months after his release, he was arrested again after he took a 13-year-old girl to the cliffs near a beach where they kissed and smoked marijuana. When they were busted by the park ranger, Rodney was arrested again. This time he was sentenced to jail, where he stayed until 1977. However, he continued his crimes over the next several years. After killing a 12-year-old girl in 1979, he was arrested yet again.

Rodney was convicted and sentenced to death twice – once in 1981 and once in 1986. According to The Washington Post, the California Supreme Court “overturned the first conviction, ruling that evidence of his previous crimes should not have been admitted at trial and tainted the case.” In 2003, Rodney’s second death sentence was thrown out and a new trial was ordered.

Rodney was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder, but New York investigators began to look into unsolved murders to which Rodney may have had potential ties. In 2012, he was indicted for two more murders from 1971 and 1977, respectively. Four years later, prosecutors in Wyoming charged Rodney with another murder, but he was too sick to be extradited to face the charges.

Rodney died of natural causes in 2021 at the age of 77.

Did Cheryl Bradshaw Actually Go on a Date With Rodney Alcala?

Despite choosing Rodney for a date on The Dating Game, Cheryl backed out after the cameras stopped rolling, a move that likely saved her life. Producers awarded Cheryl and Rodney a trip to Magic Mountain theme park and tennis lessons, but Cheryl called contestant coordinator Ellen Metzger and asked to cancel the date.

“She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t go out with this guy. There’s weird vibes that are coming off him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?’” Ellen said in an interview on 20/20 in 2021. “And of course, I said, ‘No.’