In the third series of Aussie jury trial drama The Twelve, you might be forgiven for thinking the Sydney-born show that shifted to Perth for season two is now in a different jurisdiction, a couple of thousand kilometres to the east. After all, as well as Sam Neill returning as defence lawyer Brent Colby, the cast includes Kiwis Danielle Cormack as the crown prosecutor on his latest murder case, Sarah Peirse as the wife of the accused, Marlon Williams as his son, as well as his Sleeping Dogs cast mate from 48 years ago, Sir Ian Mune.
The trial involves a defendant, a mate of Colby’s, charged with killing a woman who had threatened to expose him as “The Cape Rock Killer” responsible for murders at a local coastal spot in the late 1960s, when he was a teenager.
As before, the series, which was originally adapted from one-season Belgian legal drama De Twaalf, also follows the lives of the jurors on the case.
Cormack and Peirse, whom the Listener was able to snaffle for a joint chat from their respective homes in Sydney and Auckland, were fans of the previous seasons.
Peirse: “I found [the last one] actually very moving, and that slightly took me by surprise, because it’s not the usual kind of format or material that I would be moved by.”
Cormack: “I think, as well, it provides a viewing experience where you can’t look away. You are following so much on screen and not only the characters, which is exciting, especially when it comes to crime dramas. You don’t want to be creating a show where it’s easy for someone to go and make a cup of tea and come back.”
Neill is an executive producer on the series, which might well explain the Kiwi-heavy cast.
“At one point, there was a sense that there was some sort of takeover happening. But we quelled the rumours,” says Peirse, who has lived, worked, given birth, and now has children living in Australia.
Cormack has lived and worked in Oz for 15 years, becoming an award-winning television fixture over there. “I think people forget I’m from New Zealand now.” The Twelve isn’t her first dramatic brush with the Australian justice system. She played the notorious Bea Smith in the prison drama Wentworth and before that, a crown barrister turned defence counsel in four seasons of the dramedy Rake.
“This is my second shot at playing a prosecutor. So, I was definitely up for the challenge, because I didn’t feel like I did a great job the first time around.”
It helps that, unlike in her Rake days, the West Australian Supreme Court doesn’t require counsel to wear horse-hair wigs.
“I was deeply relieved. There’s enough going on on top without having to add more hair to it.”
Cormack had an earlier connection to The Twelve’s veteran lead writer Sarah Walker.
“She was one of the story-liners on Wentworth very early on and, much to my surprise, I found out that she was one of the writers who had a hand in killing my character off. But she managed to hold that piece of information from me for quite a few years.”
As well as being the prosecutor, Cormack’s character Gabe Nicholls has a history with Neill’s Colby – she was his solicitor. So, there’s a mix of camaraderie and competitiveness between them.
In WA legal terminology, Neill’s Colby is a Senior Counsel – which might also be a good description of his behind-the-scenes duties on the show. Or, according to his cast mates, who the Listener did ask to dish some dirt, he may project himself as an avuncular national treasure, who is kind to a menagerie of animals named for his co-stars, but is that the real him? Surely, he’s not that nice at the office?
“He is really like that,” says Peirse, who has been in a few productions with him over the years. Cormack: “Sam knows the show, and he knows what the show needs and because he’s an EP as well, he keeps an eye on the rhythms of the piece … but he approaches it with a very tender, soft hand. Everyone who’s working on the show knows that he’s just sitting right there on the periphery, keeping an eye on things.
“It’s incredible to work with someone for whom the absolute nucleus of their life is acting. Completely. I can’t imagine him not being on a set, and you can see it’s such a big part of his vitality – he’s been very public with his health and so forth – and he’s just forging on.”
The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer is on TVNZ+ from October 1. The previous two seasons are also available.
