Cheryl Bradshaw and Rodney Alcala’s introduction on a 1978 game show episode inspired Netflix’s ‘Woman of the Hour’
Cheryl Bradshaw almost went on a date with in 1978 — but she trusted her gut instead.
Netflix’s follows an aspiring actress and serial killer who cross paths when they’re both cast on an episode of The Dating Game. After blindly interviewing three contestants to secure a prized date with the winning bachelor, she unknowingly chooses Alcala but quickly grows suspicious of him.
Although parts of the movie are reimagined, Woman of the Hour is of Alcala, who was convicted of the murders of seven women and girls but is believed to have killed as many as 130, per .
Meanwhile, Sheryl Bradshaw, played by , is based on the real-life Cheryl Bradshaw, who nearly went on a date with Alcala while he was in the middle of his yearslong murder spree. However, according to Netflix’s press notes for the movie, Bradshaw’s character is the most fictionalized piece of the film.
“There’s very little public information about the real person, so our Sheryl’s life before The Dating Game is basically an imagined version of a woman in the 1970s,” Kendrick said. “And her story became central in teasing out the thematic elements of the pervasive gender issues that were rooted in that era and persist today.”
So what happened to Cheryl Bradshaw? Here’s everything to know about her life after she chose Rodney Alcala as her winner on The Dating Game show over 45 years ago.
Who is Cheryl Bradshaw?
Cheryl Bradshaw was the lead contestant on a 1978 episode of The Dating Game, a television game show from the 1960s in which a bachelorette typically interviewed three male contestants hidden behind a wall, choosing one for an all-expenses-paid date.
During , Bradshaw asked three men various questions, including “What are you called and what do you look like?”
Bachelor No. 1, Alcala, replied, “I’m called ‘The banana,’ and I look really good.” When Cheryl asked him to be more descriptive, he added, “Peel me.”
Bradshaw and Alcala engaged in playful banter throughout the taping, leading her to ultimately select him as the winner and granting them the prized date.
While he was described as “a successful photographer” who enjoyed skydiving and riding motorcycles on the game show, it was later discovered that Alcala was a violent serial killer and sexual offender who was linked to the murders of seven women and one girl across three states during the 1970s. Authorities believe the actual number of victims to be as high as 130.
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Was Cheryl Bradshaw actually an aspiring actress?
Although the film portrays Bradshaw as an aspiring actress, this detail doesn’t seem to have been inspired by real-life facts.
In an archived clip from the 1978 episode, the game show host introduced her as a “young lady with a wealth of experience.”
“She taught school in Phoenix, Ariz., and now she’s here to educate our three bachelors in the art of amore,” he added.
Did Cheryl Bradshaw go on a date with Rodney Alcala after The Dating Game?
Like in the film, Bradshaw quickly grew suspicious of her winning bachelor following their appearance on The Dating Game.
According to the press notes for Woman of the Hour, Kendrick and the rest of the crew were made aware that the real Bradshaw and Alcala had a conversation after the game show that made her decide to forgo the prize date that she had won, but they don’t know exactly what went on in that exchange, meaning the film is a reimagined version.
Still, Bradshaw eventually made her feelings known. “I started to feel ill. He was actually really creepy,” she told The Sunday Telegraph in 2012 (via ). “I didn’t want to see him again.”
In a 2021 appearance on , The Dating Game contestant coordinator Ellen Metzger highlighted Bradshaw’s excitement toward Alcala turn into a “pretty lukewarm togetherness” following their initial face-to-face meetup.
Metzger recalled that the day after filming, Bradshaw called the show’s office and expressed concerns.
“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?’ ” the former crew member recalled. “And of course, I said, ‘No.’ ”
After getting caught several times by police over the years and facing different charges, Alcala was sentenced to 25 years to life in 2013. He later died at 77 on July 24, 2021, from natural causes while on death row, reported.
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What happened to Cheryl Bradshaw after The Dating Game?
Woman of the Hour’s end titles reveal that the real Bradshaw left California to live a private life and raise a family.
In October 2024, Kendrick told that Bradshaw had since died and expressed the “many things” she wished she could have asked her before playing her character.
“I would ask her what it felt like for her to trust herself,” Kendrick said.
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