# The Twelve (Australian TV series)

The Twelve is an Australian television drama series on Fox Showcase that premiered on 21 June 2022. It stars Kate Mulvany, Sam Neill, Marta Dusseldorp, and Brendan Cowell. The second series aired on 11 July 2024, and in September 2024 the series was renewed for a third season.

## 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 Sasha and farmhand Patrick, the tight-knit community must put aside past encounters to find out if they are guilty of her murder.

## 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
* Hamish Michael as Jamie Merrick
* Louisa Mignone as Detective Sam Chedid
* Charlotte Lucas as Belinda Bain
* Avishek Sharma as the Judge's Associate
* Josh Quong Tart as Harmon
* Lex Marinos as Nikolaos Menelaus

### 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

### Season 3: (Cape Rock Killer)

* Danielle Cormack as Gabe Nicholls
* Eryn Jean Norvill
* Sarah Peirse
* William Zappa as Alan Chaplan
* Ewen Leslie
* Phoenix Raei
* Paul Tassone
* Tracy Mann

## Episodes
### Series 1

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Aus. viewers |
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Daniel Nettheim | Sarah Walker | 21 June 2022 (2022-06-21) | 37,000 |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Daniel Nettheim | Bradford Winters | 28 June 2022 (2022-06-28) | 56,000 |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Greg McLean | Leah Purcell | 5 July 2022 (2022-07-05) | 51,000 |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Greg McLean | Anchuli Felicia King | 12 July 2022 (2022-07-12) | 46,000 |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Catherine Millar | Tommy Murphy | 19 July 2022 (2022-07-19) | 62,000 |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Catherine Millar | Greg Waters | 26 July 2022 (2022-07-26) | 66,000 |
| 7 | 7 | "Episode 7" | Sian Davies | Leah Purcell | 2 August 2022 (2022-08-02) | 62,000 |
| 8 | 8 | "Episode 8" | Sian Davies | Anchuli Felicia King | 9 August 2022 (2022-08-09) | 47,000 |
| 9 | 9 | "Episode 9" | Daniel Nettheim | Sarah Walker | 16 August 2022 (2022-08-16) | 70,000 |
| 10 | 10 | "Episode 10" | Daniel Nettheim | Sarah Walker | 23 August 2022 (2022-08-23) | 82,000 |

### Series 2

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 11 | 1 | ""Episode 1"" | Stevie Cruz-Martin | Sarah Walker | 11 July 2024 (2024-07-11) |
| 12 | 2 | ""Episode 2"" | Stevie Cruz-Martin | Sarah Walker | 18 July 2024 (2024-07-18) |
| 13 | 3 | ""Episode 3"" | Mark Joffe | Anchuli Felicia King | 25 July 2024 (2024-07-25) |
| 14 | 4 | ""Episode 4"" | Mark Joffe | Anya Beyersdorf | 1 August 2024 (2024-08-01) |
| 15 | 5 | ""Episode 5"" | Emma Jackson | Anna Barnes | 8 August 2024 (2024-08-08) |
| 16 | 6 | ""Episode 6"" | Ben Young | Sarah Walker | 15 August 2024 (2024-08-15) |
| 17 | 7 | ""Episode 7"" | Ben Young | Anchuli Felicia King | 22 August 2024 (2024-08-22) |
| 18 | 8 | ""Episode 8"" | Ben Young | Sarah Walker | 29 August 2024 (2024-08-29) |

## 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 series, production moved away from Sydney to Western Australia. Production of the third season remains in Western Australia.

## Broadcast

The first series premiered in June 2022.
The second series aired on 11 July 2024.
In September 2024 the series was renewed for a third season.

## 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
#### Series 1

| No. | Title | Air date | Overnight ratings | Overnight ratings | Ref(s) |
| No. | Title | Air date | Viewers | Rank | Ref(s) |
| 1 | "Episode 1" | 21 June 2022 | 37,000 | 9 | |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | 28 June 2022 | 56,000 | 3 | |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | 5 July 2022 | 51,000 | 2 | |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | 12 July 2022 | 46,000 | 4 | |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | 19 July 2022 | 62,000 | 1 | |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | 26 July 2022 | 66,000 | 2 | |
| 7 | "Episode 7" | 2 August 2022 | 62,000 | 1 | |
| 8 | "Episode 8" | 9 August 2022 | 47,000 | 3 | |
| 9 | "Episode 9" | 16 August 2022 | 70,000 | 1 | |
| 10 | "Episode 10" | 23 August 2022 | 82,000 | 1 | |
On average, the series had a viewership of 58,000, and ranked at #3.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Kate Mulvaney | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | Sam Neill | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama | Brooke Satchwell | Won |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | Brendan Cowell | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Costume Design in Television | Xanthe Huebel (Episode 10) | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Direction in Drama or Comedy | Daniel Nettheim (Episode 10) | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Editing in Television | Mark Perry (Episode 10) | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Screenplay in Television | Sarah Walker (Episode 10) | Nominated |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Casting Presented by Casting Networks | Kirsty McGregor | Won |
| 2022 | AACTA Awards | Best Miniseries or Telefeature | Hamish Lewis Ian Collie Ally Henville Rob Gibson Michael Brooks | Won |
| 2022 | AACTA Audience Choice Awards | Best Actor | Hazem Shammas | Nominated |
| 2022 | Australian Directors' Guild Awards | Best Direction in a TV or SVOD Drama Series Episode | Sian Davies (Episode 8) | Nominated |
| 2022 | Screen Music Awards | Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie | Rafael May | Nominated |
| 2023 | TV Tonight Awards | Best New Show (Aussie) | The Twelve | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Actor | Sam Neill | Won |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actor | Sam Neill | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actress | Kate Mulvany | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actress | Marta Dusseldorp | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Supporting Actor | Hamish Michael | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Brooke Satchwell | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Pallavi Sharda | Won |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie | The Twelve | Nominated |
| 2023 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie | The Twelve | Won |
| 2025 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Drama | Sam Neill | Nominated |
| 2025 | AACTA Awards | Best Drama Series | The Twelve | Nominated |
| 2025 | AACTA Awards | Best Casting | The Twelve | Nominated |