Cheryl Bradshaw Won a Date With a Serial Killer While on 'The Dating Game' — What Happened?
"He's very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?"
Published Oct. 19 2024, 10:58 a.m. ET
In October 2024, Anna Kendrick's directorial debut premiered on Netflix. The Pitch Perfect star decided to dip her toes in the world of true crime by way of a truly gruesome story. Woman of the Hour centers on Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick), a struggling actor living in Los Angeles who agrees to go on The Dating Game in order to get more exposure.
What no one knew at the time was one of the bachelor contestants was hiding a terrible secret.
Bachelor Rodney Alcala was described as a professional photographer who enjoyed skydiving and motorcycles. He was also a serial killer who had murdered at least five women before he found himself on that stage in 1978.
Not only were Alcala's crimes very real and very terrifying, but his appearance on the show happened almost the same way as it did in the film. That brings us to the woman of the hour.
Whatever happened to Cheryl Bradshaw? Here's what we know.
Whatever happened to Cheryl Bradshaw?
Anna told Today.com that Bradshaw had passed away, but did not provide any information beyond that.
The new director added that there were so many things she wished she could say to the woman who got away.
"I would ask her what it felt like for her to trust herself," Anna said. This is not to say that the other victims ignored their instincts, which is something Anna was quick to point out. It was just such an impressive thing at the time, to trust one's gut.
She also acknowledged this is of course a nuanced situation.
"I think there was a point where one of the producers was asking if there should be some really clever way that my character outsmarts or outwits Rodney, and that’s why she survives," recalled Anna. "I was like, ‘I think that that would do a disservice to the other women who were no less intelligent than her,' and that sometimes it’s a combination of trusting your gut, but sometimes it’s too late for that.”
In a 2012 interview with the Sydney Telegraph (via Gloucestershire Live), the real Bradshaw told the outlet that after actually meeting Alcala, she felt ill.
"He was acting really creepy." This prompted Bradshaw to contact a producer for The Dating Game in order to back out of the date with Alcala.
"There's weird vibes that are coming off of him," she explained. "He's very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?" Thankfully the producer already had the same feeling.
Cheryl Bradshaw wasn't the only person on 'The Dating Game' who did not like Rodney Alcala.
Mike Metzger was the executive producer on The Dating Game when Alcala was a contestant. His future wife, Ellen Metzger, was the contestant coordinator. They spoke with ABC News in January 2021 about Alcala's time on the show, and shared that they had different opinions about him.
Ellen thought he was tall and attractive, which would drive women wild. Mike said he had a "strange personality."
Fellow contestant Jed Mills told CNN in March 2010 that Alcala was "obnoxious and creepy," often interrupting whenever he felt like it. "I wound up not only not liking this guy ... not wanting to be near him ... he got creepier and more negative. He was a standout creepy guy in my life," said Mills.
