A new movie tells the story of the "TV dating show killer."

Tony Hale plays the TV host, while Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto portray Cheryl Bradshaw and Rodney Alcala

 A new Netflix film dramatises the true story of a serial killer who appeared on a TV dating show in the midst of his crimes.

"Woman of the Hour," directed by Anna Kendrick, explores the crimes of Rodney Alcala, infamously known as the "Dating Game Killer." Alcala was a contestant on the Blind Date-style show in 1978, two years before he was convicted of murdering a 12-year-old girl. Ultimately, he was found guilty of eight murders, although it is believed he may have killed many more women and girls. Alcala passed away in prison in 2021.

Who was Rodney Alcala?

Rodney Alcala pictured at a sentencing in 2010

Rodney Alcala was a serial killer and sex offender who was found guilty of eight murders across New York, California, and Wyoming between 1971 and 1979.

However, he is suspected of killing more than 100 women and girls.

Alcala often posed as a fashion photographer, targeting women by complimenting them and then asking to take their pictures. In 1980, he was sentenced to death in California for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.

His sentence was later overturned by the California Supreme Court and he was granted a new trial. He received the same penalty in the second trial in 1986, but that too was overturned in 2003.

In subsequent years, investigators discovered forensic evidence linking Alcala to other California murders.

• Read more about Rodney Alcala's convictions

At a new trial in 2010, he was found guilty of killing Samsoe as well as four other women aged between 18 and 32 in the years between 1977 and 1979.

In 1994, while in custody, Alcala wrote a book titled You, the Jury, in which he argued he was innocent.

In 2012, Alcala was extradited to New York after he was charged over two further murders from 1971 and 1977. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in New York to 25 years to life.

In 2016, he was charged with the murder of Christine Ruth Thornton, a woman identified by investigators from one of his photos taken in 1977.

Alcala died of natural causes in 2021 aged 77 at a hospital near the Corcoran state prison in California.

What was the dating show he appeared on?

The Dating Game is similar in format to the UK's Blind Date. Rodger Alcala became known as the "Dating Game Killer" because of his appearance on the show during a period when he was committing murders.

In September 1978, Alcala participated in The Dating Game, a U.S. television show where a single woman asks questions to three potential partners, who can be seen by the audience but not by her. The show concludes with the woman selecting one man to date based on their answers. 

It is believed Alcala was chosen because he was tall, handsome, and charming, and the producers did not conduct a background check on him. In the episode, Alcala was selected by Cheryl Bradshaw at the end of the show. However, after a conversation with him backstage, Bradshaw described him as "creepy" and decided not to go on the date. This decision likely saved her life.

Unfortunately, the original episode of The Dating Game featuring Bradshaw and Alcala no longer exists in full; only snippets are available online.

How is he presented in the new film?

Alcala posed as a fashion photographer and asked women if he could take pictures of them

Woman of the Hour opens in 1977 with Alcala encouraging a woman named Sarah to reveal details of her personal life as he photographs her in a remote mountain region of Wyoming.

Things take a sinister turn when Alcala suddenly turns nasty and begins to attack her, setting the tone for the way he preys on several of the women he encounters for the rest of the film.

The film's timeline jumps around, as the viewer follows a few different strands which each focus on a different woman.

The murders themselves are not shown on screen. Instead, the film focuses on Alcala's initial encounters with the women and the moments leading up to the killings.

A sizeable portion of the movie is taken up with the day the episode of The Dating Game was filmed.

As well as directing the film, Kendrick plays Bradshaw - the woman who appeared on the dating show alongside Alcala.

Although based on real-life cases, the film takes some artistic licence. For instance, Bradshaw is seen going against the dating show presenter's wishes by going off-script and asking the bachelors her own questions, giving the film a more feminist angle than was the case in reality.

The date between Bradshaw and Alcala is also an invention. In reality, they never made it as far as a date, but the film imagines their trip to a bar and a subsequent altercation in the car park.

Source: B.B.C