Sam Neill Courtroom Drama Renewed for Third Season

Production has begun on the third season of the drama series The Twelve, starring Sam Neill in the lead role, and has been ordered by Binge, a streaming platform operated by Australian pay-TV group Foxtel.

The series focuses on twelve jurors who must reach a verdict while dealing with their own personal issues. For the new season, Neill (“Peaky Blinders,” “Jurassic World: Dominion”) returns as Brett Colby SC, as the jurors deliberate on an unsolved murder trial.

The third season, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is written by Sarah L. Walker, Matt Cameron, Mia Lethbridge, Adele Vuko and Sam Meikle. The series will be directed by Madeleine Gottlieb (“Erotic Stories,” “Latecomers”) and Mark Joffe (“Jack Irish”), and will star Kirsty McGregor and Will Pearce. Producers are Hamish Lewis and Michael Brooks for Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia (WBITVPA) and Ally Henville, Ian Collie and Rob Gibson for Easy Tiger, with executive producers Sarah L. Walker, Sam Neill, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Penny Win. Lana Greenhalgh, head of scripting, is supervising production for Foxtel Group.

The new season is set in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, in and around Perth, including the state parliament and ABC studios.

Season 2 was the biggest production ever made in Western Australia and was the first series to use the Western Australia Production Attraction Incentive program. Producers and production agency Screenwest said season 2 contributed A$9.6 million ($6.45 million) to the state’s economy and created more than 650 jobs. They expect season 3 to generate a similar number of jobs and A$10 million ($6.7 million) in spinoffs.

Season 1 received ten AACTA nominations and won three awards, including Best Mini-Series. Season 1 was also the most nominated drama series at the 63rd TV Week Logie Awards, winning three TV Week Logie Awards, including Best Drama.

Fifth Season is handling worldwide rights sales.