The Twelve is an Australian television drama series on Fox Showcase that premiered on 21 June 2022. It stars Sam Neill, Kate Mulvany, Marta Dusseldorp, and Brendan Cowell. The second season aired on 11 July 2024, and in September 2024 the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on 4 August 2025.
Contents
Plot
The Twelve was based on the 2019 Belgian miniseries De twaalf created by Sanne Nuyens and Bert Van Dael. It follows the story of Kate Lawson, who is on trial for the alleged murder of her niece and how the twelve jurors bring their personal lives and prejudices to the courtroom.
The second season focuses on Bernice Price (Kris McQuade) who was found dead on the Price property. On trial her daughter Sasha and farmhand Patrick, the tight-knit community must put aside past encounters to find out if they are guilty of her murder.
In the third season, Brett Colby is thrust into a murder trial that involves a long-term friend, as a mystery unravels. A murder cold-case is re-opened to find answers, as the twelve jurors find themselves struggling with the life changing experience.
Cast
Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Sam Neill as Brett Colby
Season 1
Kate Mulvany as Kate Lawson
Marta Dusseldorp as Lucy Bloom
Brendan Cowell as Garry Thorne
Brooke Satchwell as Georgina Merrick
Hazem Shammas as Farrad Jessim
Pallavi Sharda as Corrie D'Souza
Ngali Shaw as Jarrad Saunders
Catherine Van-Davies as Vanessa Young
Bishanyia Vincent as Lily Powell
Damien Strouthos as Alexi Menelaus
Nic Cassim as Simon Cavanaugh
Rachel Gordon as Emily Cavanaugh
Daniel Mitchell as Peter Brodsky
Gennie Nevinson as Margaret Brown
Toby Blome as Greg
Warren Lee as Trevor Morros
Susan Kennedy as Melissa Curry
Jenni Baird as Diane Lawson
Matt Nable as Nathan Spears
Silvia Colloca as Sonia Spears
Coco Jack Gillies as Claire Spears
Ben Mingay as Flip Menelaus
Shane Connor as Steve Dokic
Seasons 2 and 3
Kaila Ferrelli as Nina Distazio
Season 2
Fayssal Bazzi as Jude Persand
Frances O'Connor as Meredith Nelson-Moore
Myles Pollard as Neal Collins
Shareena Clanton as Kora Gardner
Kris McQuade as Bernice Price
Stefanie Caccamo as Claudia D'Angelo
Erroll Shand as Patrick Harrows
Amy Mathews as Sasha Price
Elle Mandalis as Connie D'Angelo
Sharon Johal as Parvinder Sangar
Tasma Walton as Thelma Connell
Anthony Brandon Wong as Winston Hang
Josh McKenzie as Joey Kovac
Megan Hollier as Wanda Tsiolkas
Steve Le Marquand as Mal Adcock
Gerald Lepkowski as Chris Moore
Lila McGuire as Alice Jinx
Season 3: Cape Rock Killer
Danielle Cormack as Gabe Nicholls
Eryn Jean Norvill as Amanda Taylor
Sarah Peirse as Beth Chaplin
Bessie Holland as Camilla Jones
Nathalie Morris as Jazmyn Tanner
William Zappa as Alan Chaplan
Ewen Leslie as Andrew Retsis
Phoenix Raei as Bassam Aziz
Paul Tassone as Blake Gibson
Hayley McElhinney as Marilyn Thorne
John Bell as Edward John Dallimore
Tracy Mann as Judge West
Bruce Spence as Goran Popovich
Episodes
Production
The series is produced by Ian Collie, Rob Gibson, and Ally Henville, with executive producers Michael Brooks, Hamish Lewis, and Liz Watts.
For the second season, production moved away from Sydney to Western Australia. Production of the third season remained in Western Australia.
Broadcast
The first season premiered on Foxtel and Fox Showcase on 21 June 2022. The second season premiered on 11 July 2024. In September 2024, the series was renewed for a third season. The third season premiered on Binge on 4 August 2025.
Reception
Critical reception
Reviews for The Twelve were generally positive. Prior to its premiere, David Knox of website TV Tonight rated the series at four out of five stars and praised both the adaptation and its cast, stating that "The Twelve has been entirely adapted for Australian audiences – and the results are quite fabulous." In a review from Wenlei Ma from news.com.au, she highly praised the production, commenting, "The performances and the writing are solid, the premise is compelling and the series itself has a lot of promise." Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald gave the series three and a half stars, comparing the adaptation to the original Belgian series.
The series received a mixed reception in the UK. Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian rated the series at 2 out of 5 stars, praising Sam Neill and Kate Mulvany's performances, but was highly critical of the show's storyline, commenting that "there is a sense of several soapy subplots bumping against each other, but never really gelling. You are left wanting to get back to the murder, which is the most straightforward part of the story. There is little in the did-she-do-it debate that sets it apart. The 12 aren’t really the focus here, then, and even actors as seasoned as Neill and Mulvany struggle to lift it beyond the realms of a functional thriller." In a review for the Evening Standard, Vicky Jessop give it 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "it’s fascinating stuff, in theory, but never gets enough time to breathe." She goes on to say "you can’t blame the show’s makers for wanting to spice up the court drama formula a little: we get so many that it can be hard to make them stand out, and this is a worthy attempt. But The Twelve ultimately fails to stick the landing. Crime lovers will find plenty to intrigue them; for the casual viewer, the jury’s very much out."
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of critics' reviews are positive.
Ratings
On average, the series had a viewership of 58,000, and ranked at #3.