The Twelve (Australian TV series)

The Twelve is an Australian television drama series on Fox Showcase. The series is produced by Ian Collie, Rob Gibson and Ally Henville, with executive producers Michael Brooks and Hamish Lewis and Liz Watts. The series was renewed for a second season in June 2023. The second series aired on 11 July 2024.

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 series focuses on Bernice Price (Kris McQuade) who was found dead on the Price property. On trial her daughter Amy and farmhand Patrick, the tight-knit community must put aside past encounters to find out if they are guilty of her murder.

Cast
Series 1
 * Kate Mulvany as Kate Lawson
 * Sam Neill as Brett Colby (Series 1, 2)
 * 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
 * Hamish Michael as Jamie Merrick
 * Louisa Mignone as Detective Sam Chedid (series 1)
 * Charlotte Lucas as Belinda Bain
 * Avishek Sharma as the Judge's Associate

Series 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
 * Elena Mandalis as Connie D'Angelo (Series 2)
 * Sharon Johal as Parvinder Sangar
 * Tasma Walton as Thelma Connell
 * Anthony Brandon Wong as Winston Hang
 * Josh McKenzie as Joey Kovac

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."

The series was renewed for a second series with production moving away from Sydney to Western Australia.

Ratings
Series 1

On average, the series had a viewership of 58,000, and ranked at #3.

Series 2