Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour , is based on the true story of murderer Rodney Alcala — but who was the Dating Game killer, really? The film, set to hit Netflix on Friday, October 18, is based on the notorious serial killer and sex offender who found his next potential victim on national TV while appearing on a 1978 episode of The Dating Game . Daniel Zovatto will portray Alcala in the true crime thriller, while Kendrick will star as Cheryl Bradshaw, the bachelorette at the center of the infamous episode. Although Kendrick was originally only attached as the star of the film, she eventually pitched herself to direct.
“I think I was particularly invested in the script and in pieces of the script that [my character is] not in, in a way that I normally wouldn’t be,” she told Netflix’s Tudum in September 2024. “I really like the complicated journey of a woman who is shrinking herself and being very pleasing and then manages to rebel and take back some power.” Alcala was eventually caught and sentenced to death for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979, and later pleaded guilty for two more murders committed in New York.
His true number of victims, however, is unknown, with many believing it could be as high as 130. While Woman of the Hour will revisit the details Alcala’s crimes, the story will take a unique approach by choosing to focus on the women whose lives he cut short more than the murderer himself. So, who was Rodney Alcala? .