The Twelve

The Twelve

[Full series available on ITVX here]

This gripping courtroom drama tells the story of 12 ordinary Australians who are selected for jury duty in a murder trial as traumatising as it is controversial, in which a woman stands accused of killing her teenage niece. Behind the façade of their anonymity, these twelve ordinary people bring with them their own histories. Lives that are as complex as the trial, full of fractured dreams, shameful secrets, hope, fears, personal trauma, and prejudice. Through the multiple lenses of these jurors, audiences will see the fragility and imbalances of the law, and the chaotic and flawed way we attempt to determine justice in our society.

The limited series also stars Marta Dusseldorp (Wentworth, Stateless, A Place to Call Home) and Kate Mulvany (Fighting Season, Lambs of God, Hunters).

The 10-episode crime drama commissioned by the FOXTEL Group, is produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia in partnership with Easy Tiger Productions with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with FOXTEL.

Financed with support from Screen NSW. The series is distributed globally by FIFTH SEASON. Executive Producers for the Foxtel Group are Brian Walsh and Penny Win.

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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.

Episode 1

As the jury is selected for Kate Lawson’s lengthy trial, the press follows the sensational case of her missing 14-year-old niece, Claire Spears, who is presumed murdered. When the jurors meet for the first time, it’s clear this is a diverse group, who bring their own problems to the table. Georgina, a middle-class mum, is caught between her duty to the Court and her duty to her family. Garry, a gambler struggling with debt, learns the history of fellow-juror Corrie, who has a horrific family secret she is keeping to herself.