The Twelve’s second season is fuelled by an intense murder mystery.

The thought of jury duty will fill any person with dread but the return of groundbreaking Australian legal drama The Twelve is something we can all celebrate.

Following a stellar first season starring Brooke Satchwell and a sweep of the 2023 Logie Awards, the gripping crime drama is back for season two with a new controversial murder trial seen through the eyes of the 12 jurors. 

And the good news keeps coming as season one lead and Aussie treasure, Sam Neill, is back as criminal barrister Brett Colby. This time, he's teaming up with another Australian legend of the screen, Frances O’Connor, who stars alongside him as defence lawyer Meredith Nelson-Moore.

The accused are portrayed by A Place to Call Home's Amy Mathews and The Clearing's Erroll Shand.

The twelve jury members feature an array of Aussie talent like Mystery Road's Tasma Walton, Five Bedrooms' Josh McKenzie, The Family Law's Anthony Brandon Wong, Fighting Season's Stefanie Caccamo and Neighbours star, Sharon Johal. 

Season two will see a change of scenery for The Twelve: swapping the urban sprawl of Western Sydney for regional Western Australia.

Watch the trailer for season two. Post continues after video.

Set in the rural township of Tunkwell after local landowner, Bernice Price, was found dead at the bottom of her farm well, the season presents the case of two ex-lovers accused of her murder. Did Bernice die by accident or was it murder? The accused's fate will be sealed by the 12 jurors from a range of diverse backgrounds and rich backstories. 

I visited the courtroom set in Perth last year and found it fascinating walking the halls alongside some of Australia's most elite acting talents. I sat in the jury benches and perused the notes taken — yes, the actors take actual notes — during the trail — and was amazed with what goes into making The Twelve. 

I spoke with three of the season's stars, Francis O'Connor, Erroll Shand and Amy Mathews to find out what twists and turns we can expect this season. 

O’Connor shared that when getting into the headspace of defense lawyer Meredith, she was inspired by one of her lawyer friends. "It's a fantastically complex character. I guess I'm more of a heart person but she's more of like a head person. It was kind of fun being in that headspace," she said.

Shand related to parts of his character. "There are aspects of Patrick like he doesn't drink anymore. For whatever reason, I don't drink anymore. He works with his hands, I work with my hands," he said. "I just connected with him straight away."

The three actors were especially excited to work alongside an acting great like Sam Neill. In the case of O'Connor, she had worked with Neill before on films, The Hunter and Mystery Ride. 

"One of the reasons I wanted to do it was just being able to hang out with him again and act opposite him because he's so good," O'Connor said about reuniting with Neill. 

"You always feel like you learn stuff when you work with Sam. And he's just a nice guy to hang out with." 

Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill attend The Twelve premiere. Image: Getty. 

For Shand, Neill was one of his acting heroes. 

"I love him. As a child, I was watching him on TV," he admitted. "To be here, 40 years down the track, working with him, he was the dude that opened my mind."  

Meanwhile, Mathews was a huge fan of O'Connor's massive catalog of work. "I grew up watching her in so many of her beautiful films," she shared. "I'll never tell because she's probably embarrassed but her in Bedazzled with Brendan Fraser [laughs]... She's great in it!"

O'Connor has starred in a sweeping scope of Hollywood films ranging from Mansfield Park and The Importance of Being Earnest to award-winning TV roles in Madame Bovary and The Missing.

Hailing from Perth originally, the actress is happy to go back to her roots. "Anytime I have to work from another culture [for a role], you have to do the work on what that culture is — but this is in my bones," she said. 

The new season is WA loud and proud, showcasing some beautiful areas of the region rarely seen on film. The season will feature two Western Australia directors Stevie Cruz-Martin and Ben Young alongside Mark Joffe and Emma Jackson.

"Shooting in my hometown Perth, it was so lovely to come and work in Perth for three months, which I've never done before," O'Connor said. 

"My whole career has been me either working on the East Coast or somewhere in Europe or America. There was something really nice about returning home to do it. It's somewhere I visited as a kid and some of the locations that I knew very well." 

Season two of The Twelve is filmed across Perth and regional WA. Image: Binge. 

Shand was born in Wellington in New Zealand but grew up in Brisbane. He said he was stoked to share a slice of WA as "everything has a different feel, a different history," he said. 

Mathews hails from Melbourne but has lived in Perth before. "I'm really proud of Western Australia, I lived here for seven years. It's beautiful, the beaches are pristine, and then you drive 25 minutes, and you're in the hills," she said.

Season two of The Twelve will delve into the small-town culture of the area which can make jury trials particularly tricky. "There's always talk around town, it's so hard to keep it all locked down. It's definitely a jury of your peers in a country town," Mathews said. 

Something that O'Connor said that viewers might not expect is how complex it is to build these sorts of legal dramas. 

"In the writers' room, there are so many storylines that interconnect or cross over and it's like a big Rubik's cube. I think you just don't realise the amount of effort that goes into storytelling," she said. 

Mathews added that in the case of The Twelve, the filming experience felt more like a play than a typical TV show. "We're all in the same room at the same time, it's almost like a theatre experience where you're in rehearsal rooms with each other," she said. 

"It's going to create a real ensemble and a sense of cohesiveness."

With an impressive cast and a fresh, new story (and city) to showcase, the second season of The Twelve is off to a cracking start. "It's a rocking good story. There are a lot of twists and turns in it," O'Connor teased. 

"There's something really nice about being part of an ensemble Australian story and telling that story altogether."

Season two of The Twelve is currently streaming on Binge.

Feature image: Binge.