Woman of the Hour: Who is Rodney Alcala? Everything to know about The Dating Game Killer

American crime thriller Woman of the Hour, directed by Anna Kendrick, will be released on Netflix on October 18, 2024. The film chronicles the interactions between Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress from Los Angeles in the 1970s, and serial s*x offender and killer Rodney Alcala, who crossed paths when they were cast together in a dating show.

The dating show was called The Dating Game, and Alcala appeared as one of the guests in 1978. Bradshaw was one of the bachelorettes who chose Alcala as her date. However, before their date could happen, Bradshaw reportedly backed out, citing Alcala's "creepy" behavior.

After reports of Rodney Alcala's s*xually exploitative and murderous tendencies emerged, he popularly came to be referred to as The Dating Game Killer owing to his association with the dating show.

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Who was Rodney Alcala, also known as The Dating Game Killer, set to be portrayed in Netflix's Woman of the Hour?

Serial Killer Rodney Alcala is the main focus in Netflix's Woman of the Hour(Image via Getty)

Serial s*x offender and killer Rodney Alcala will be the subject matter of Netflix's upcoming film, Woman of the Hour, written by Ian McDonald and directed by Anna Kendrick.

The film will focus on the relationship between Anna Kendrick's Cheryl Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto's Rodney Alcala, who met through the American game show The Dating Game in 1978. After Bradshaw picked Alcala as her date in the show, she refused to go on the same, informing those associated with the show that Alcala exhibited disturbing tendencies.

It was later found that Rodney Alcala was associated with the r**pe and killing of at least five women in the past, including children (these numbers are expected to be more than what has been established). What set him apart from the other killers was the fact that he would usually str*ngle his victims and wait for them to pass out before he revived them and repeated the process before he finally killed them.

During the span of Alcala committing these crimes, he was arrested on different occasions but was released on multiple grounds, including the lack of evidence. He changed names and passed off as a professional photographer to entice his victims and would usually be successful in it.

Alcala was eventually caught approximately a year after he appeared in The Dating Game and was charged with the murders of at least three people. He received death sentences for the crimes he committed in 1980, 1986, and 2010 and was on death row when he eventually passed away due to natural causes on July 24, 2021, aged 77.

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Trailer breakdown for Woman of the Hour

Netflix released the trailer for Woman of the Hour on September 17, 2024, on YouTube. It suggests that Bradshaw and Alcala initially met over a meal.

It is unclear whether this meal was the date they were supposed to have in the show in real life, but eventually, it did not come to pass, as Bradshaw bailed out from it at the last minute. It is possible that the date has been fictionalized and is to be featured in the upcoming film as a means of exercising artistic discretion.

Nonetheless, as seen in the trailer of the movie, Bradshaw remained cautious during their date because she noticed certain behaviors that made her uneasy. These behaviors included Alcala requesting Bradshaw's phone number and double-checking it to ensure she wasn’t intentionally providing him with an incorrect one.

Additionally, Alcala followed Bradshaw over a considerable distance in the parking lot after their date concluded, raising further concerns in her head.

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Woman of the Hour will be released on Netflix on Friday, October 18, 2024, at midnight EST.