Season 1

8 × 50 minute episodes

Credits

Producers
Ian Collie
Rob Gibson
Ally Henville
Michael Brooks
Hamish Lewis
Liz Watts
Brian Walsh
Penny Win

Writers
Greg Waters
Sarah Walker
Brad Winters
Anchuli Felicia King
Leah Purcell
Tommy Murphy

Directors
Daniel Nettheim

Starring
Brooke Satchwell
Kate Mulvany
Sam Neill
Marta Dusseldorp
Hazem Shammas

For full credits visit IMdB

The Twelve begins on the first day of jury selection in a complicated trial.

Twelve ordinary citizens from diverse backgrounds have been summoned to the Supreme Court to decide the fate of a woman charged with murder. Is she guilty or innocent? Is it even a murder? Her fourteen-year-old niece went missing when in her care, but a body has never been found and it isn’t clear what motive she would have for killing her. Her own family is divided about her guilt or innocence, what hope does the jury have of reaching the truth?

Over ten episodes we explore the lives and loves of the people who will decide the fate of the accused, their histories, their conflicts, their families, their secrets: a gentle suburban mum whose husband’s adoration may be hiding coercion, a builder torn away from his responsibilities, a star student struggling with being a role model to his indigenous community, a chronic gambler with money problems, a brash millennial plagued by traumatic memories.

The values they bring and the challenges they confront will shape the different ways they react to the unfolding trial. Being on a jury for a long complex trial is tough and time consuming, the pressures of the trial impact upon the personal lives of the jurors. They are forced to contemplate the darker side of human nature while being forbidden to speak to anyone outside the jury room about the evidence they confront each day. Alliances become friendships, relationships form and come apart as they learn the contradictory details of what may be a horrible crime, or a tragic accident or simply a runaway teen who knows how to hide. When they reach a verdict, it will change the lives of everyone involved in the trial.

Producers
Ally Henville
Hamish Lewis
Ian Collie
Rob Gibson

Writers
Sarah L. Walker
Anchuli Felicia King
Anya Beyersdorf
Anna Barnes

Directors
Stevie Cruz-Martin
Mark Joffe
Ben Young
Emma Jackson

Starring
Sam Neill
Frances O’Connor
Fayssal Bazzi
Amy Mathews
Erroll Shand
Kris McQuade
Tasma Walton
Josh McKenzie
Anthony Brandon Wong
Stefanie Caccamo

8 × 60 minutes

The Twelve comes to Western Australia, to the rural township of Tunkwell - a world away from the urban city landscapes of Season One.

When local landowner, Bernice Price, was found dead at the bottom of her farm well, two ex-lovers stand accused of her murder. Twelve ordinary citizens from diverse backgrounds have been plucked from the township and surrounds to decide the fate of the co-accused - was Bernice the victim of a crime of passion, a workplace accident or just bad luck?

Criminal barrister, Brett Colby, SC, comes to Tunkwell to represent one of the accused, Patrick Harrows, while Meredith Nelson-Moore, SC, defends the other accused, Sasha Price. But Colby and Meredith have more in common than just the trial, and the pair’s relationship is put to the test both professionally and personally.

Over eight episodes we explore the lives and loves of our jury members and legal team, as this unique trial unfolds over six extraordinary weeks. But can our Twelve really be impartial when they come from such a tight rural community? One thing is for certain - by the time the verdict is reached, all will be irrevocably changed.

Credits

Producers

Ally Henville
Hamish Lewis
Ian Collie
Rob Gibson

Writers

Sarah L. Walker (Eps 1, 2 6 and 8)
Sam Meikle (Ep 3)
Matt Cameron (Ep 4)
Mia Lethbridge (Ep 5)
Adele Vuko (Ep 7)

Directors

Madeleine Gottlieb (Eps 1-4, 7 & 8)
Emma Jackson (Eps 5 and 6)

Starring

Sam Neill
Danielle Cormack
William Zappa
Eryn Jean Norvill
Sarah Peirse

The cold case murder of two teens in 1968 becomes the focus of attention when an English teacher, Amanda Taylor, is murdered whilst researching a book on the crime. The husband of a friend of leading barrister, Brett Colby, is charged with the current murder – but Alan swears he is innocent. Twelve jurors, who are sworn in for the trial, find their own lives are changed by the experience, including Andrew, a man whose good deeds disguise a heavy secret; Bassam, a single father who faces unemployment and racism; and two young women, Jazmyn and Gretel, who strike up a dangerous friendship.

As the case unfolds in Court, several alternative suspects for Amanda Taylor’s murder arise: a convicted sex offender who she visited in jail, a rival crime-writer who she accused of plagiarism, and a new witness Brett Colby is desperately searching for, who may hold the key to both crimes. During the trial, good Samaritan juror, Andrew, becomes involved in what appears to be an affair with a woman he helps…but his true connection to this woman holds an explosive secret. After a partying incident with Jazmyn, Gretel is haunted by flashbacks of the night – and the resulting damage to their friendship turns the jury room toxic. When Bassam’s stepdaughter tries to fight his employers in an unorthodox way, he turns for advice to fellow juror, Hanifa, with whom he may find new love.

When Prosecutor Gabe Nicholls (a former defence barrister and protegee of Colby’s) gets wind of Colby’s mysterious new witness, there is a race to track him down, resulting in a collision of interests for Colby as the trialnears its end. Already concerned about the friendship he has with his client’s wife; Colby faces an unprecedented career crisis – how do his legal ethics weigh up in the face of personal ones? Though Nicholls and Colby engage in a fierce banter, underlying this is mutual respect which ultimately allows Nicholls to reveal the reasons she abandoned Colby’s legal ideals, highlighting his need to reflect on his own. Meanwhile, at home, a visit from his estranged son makes retreat impossible for a besieged Colby – even there, he is forced to question his character, his ethics and his life decisions.

The jury room is rife with tension when the jury foreperson, Sharon, tries to keep things professional. When confronted with Gretel’s disturbing flashbacks of their night out, Jazmyn begins a smear campaign against her new friend, enlisting other jurors to her side, including the blinkered housewife, Camilla. Andrew’s secret meetings with a woman, Leah, are exposed when fellow juror, Blake, returns a lost wallet to Andrew’s house and speaks with his long-term partner Tegan. Alerted by Andrew’s lies, Tegan begins to unravel the truth about the new woman in Andrew’s life. Though Bassam is intent on keeping his forced resignation from an elite private school on the down-low, his stepdaughter, Salma, has other ideas. She calls out the inherent racism in the school – which leads to an emotional conflict between the grieving father and daughter. Fellow juror Hanifa, helps Bassam navigate the tricky territory with the teenager, leading to the promise of a gentle romance. The ending of the trial holds surprises for all – not just for the jury, and the legal eagles, but for the defendant and his family as well. Will the 1968 cold case be finally solved? Will Amanda’s killer be brought to justice?