There’s a troubling pattern over the years of murderers and serial killers appearing on television, namely game shows.One example is made into the new Netflix movie “Woman of the Hour,” directed by and starring Anna Kendrick.

Rodney Alcala.AP

There’s also John Cooper, who was on the TV darts contest show “Bullseye” in 1989. Years later, he went to jail for murder and footage from his appearance on the show was used as evidence against him.

Criminal psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das told the Daily Mail on Sunday that killers have “inherent narcissistic tendencies” which prompts some of them to go on TV.

John Cooper on “Bullseye.”

“Narcissistic individuals have an inflated sense of self-importance and a need for admiration, so they might literally put themselves on TV as a platform to be adored,” said Das.

“Appearing on these shows could have provided these killers with an opportunity to showcase their perceived talents, charm and intelligence – specifically, in the form of memorising cuddly toys on a conveyor belt,” Das added.

Rodney Alcala.

John Cooper.

The criminal psychiatrist also noted that for people who lead “a solitary and often troubled life,” which is the case for most serial killers, “the prospect of being on television” is very “appealing” to them.

That was certainly the case for Alcala, who killed at least eight people (authorities estimate that real number is more than 100) between 1971 and 1979.

Rodney Alcala.MediaNews Group

During that time, he appeared on a 1978 episode of “The Dating Game,” where host Jim Lange introduced three male suitors (including Alcala) who were there to be cutely questioned by a single woman, Cheryl Bradshaw, sitting on the other side of a partition.

Bradshaw ultimately didn’t go on a date with Alcala because she had a bad gut feeling about him.

Rodney Alcala and Jed Mills on The Dating Game.YouTube

Cheryl Bradshaw, Rodney Alcala on The Dating Game.YouTube

Alcala was arrested in 1979 and later sentenced to death in California for five murders. He also later got a sentence of 25 years to life for two murders committed in New York. Alcala “Woman of the Hour.”

Tony Hale, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto in “Woman of the Hour.”AP

Tony Hale and Anna Kendrick in “Woman of the Hour.”AP

Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto in “Woman of the Hour.”AP

“Wheel of Fortune” in 2004. Vallow, who went by Lori Ryan at the time, talked about her family to host Pat Sajak on the show. She was later arrested and charged with several murders, including her 17-year-old daughter Tylee and her 7-year-old son JJ.

Lori Vallow on Wheel of Fortune.Youtube

Lori Vallow at her sentencing hearing in Idaho on July 31, 2023.AP

Lori Vallow on “Wheel of Fortune.”NBC

Edward Wayne Edwards, another serial killer, appeared on the game show “To Tell the Truth” in 1972, after he had escaped from prison, robbed gas stations, and placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. He committed several murders after going on the show and was arrested in 2009. He died of natural causes in jail in 2011 at age 77.

Edward Wayne Edwards on To Tell the Truth.

Edward Wayne Edwards.ASSOCIATED PRESS

A side shown to the jury during the Paul Curry murder trial in September 2014.MediaNews Group via Getty Images

A different killer, Paul Curry, competed on “Jeopardy!” in 1989 and won $24,000. Five years later, he poisoned his wife, Linda, to collect over $500,000 in insurance money and other benefits. Curry was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2014.