Netflix‘s newest crime-thriller film Woman of the Hour explores what would happen if a serial killer went on a very popular dating competition show. The scariest part of it is that the premise is entirely true.
The film, directed and starring Anna Kendrick, follows Rodney Alcala’s (Daniel Zovatto) murders where he would lure unsuspecting women in the 1970s. It also chronicles the brave actions of Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) and how she maneuvered sexism when she was a contestant on The Dating Game. Alcala appeared on the show as Bachelor #3 (#1 in real life) and he ended up winning the show and his prize? A date with Cheryl Bradshaw.
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There are some aspects of Woman of the Hour that were reflected in the real game show like when host Jim Lange described Alcala as a “successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the darkroom at the age of 13, fully developed,” according to People. So what’s fact from fiction, and where are the real people now?
Where is Cheryl Bradshaw now?
According to Anna Kendrick, Cheryl Bradshaw sadly passed away before the production of the movie. She didn’t specify when she died, but she told Today that she wished she could ask her “so many things.” She told the show, “I would ask her what it felt like for her to trust herself.” The end titles revealed that Cheryl Bradshaw moved to California to raise a family after the events.
Did Cheryl Bradshaw really go on a date with Rodney Alcala?
Like what Anna Kendrick said, Cheryl trusted her intuition and did not go on the winning date with Rodney Alcala. The Dating Game‘s contestant coordinator Ellen Metzger said on 20/20 in 2021 that Cheryl immediately felt weary by the winner. “She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t go out with this guy. 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.’”
Some parts of the film might have been fictionalized, like their date, but Rodney Alcala was convicted of killing seven women in the 1970s, but investigators say that the actual victim count may be higher. He was sentenced on five counts in 2010. Rodney Alcala died of natural causes while awaiting execution in California at the age of 77 on July 24, 2021. He was housed at a prison in Corcoran according to The Associated Press.