New Netflix movie based on true story of serial killer who won a dating show to star Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick in A Simple Favor
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Anna Kendrick is set to star in a new Netflix true crime movie, Rodney & Sheryl, based on the true story of when a serial killer entered and won the TV dating show The Dating Game in the '70s.

Directed by Chloe Okuno, Kendrick will play Sheryl, the contestant who unwittingly picked a murderer in the midst of a killing spree as her date. In fact, Rodney Alcala had already been convicted of the attempted murder of a 12-year-old girl when he appeared on the show in 1978, but the network's background checks were lax enough that he made it onto The Dating Game anyway. 

He was sentenced to death for murder two years later, in 1980, with detectives estimating that he may have killed as many as 130 people – although he still remains in prison in California to this day. The upcoming movie will revolve around the events of the dating show, with Kendrick also executive producing. 

Kendrick was last seen in another Netflix movie, the sci-fi thriller Stowaway, alongside Toni Collette and Daniel Dae Kim. She's also known for her roles in more family-friendly fare, including the Pitch Perfect trilogy and the animated Trolls franchise. This announcement also shows that the streamer isn't slowing down with its movie output – it's already committed to releasing a new original flick every week in 2021, and it seems like this won't be slowing down when the year ends.

While we wait for Rodney & Sheryl to arrive on the streamer, check out our list of the best Netflix movies that you can watch right now. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.