The Twelve (Australian TV series)

Reviews for The Twelve were generally positive. Prior to its premiere, David Knox of website, TV Tonight, rated the series at four out of five stars and praised both the adaptation and its cast, stating that "The Twelve has been entirely adapted for Australian audiences -and the results are quite fabulous."[15] In a review from Wenlei Ma from news.com.au, she highly praised the production, commenting, "The performances and the writing are solid, the premise is compelling and the series itself has a lot of promise."[16] Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald gave the series three and a half stars, comparing the adaptation to the original Belgian series.[17]

The series received a mixed reception in the UK. Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian rated the series at 2 out of 5 stars, praising Sam Neill and Kate Mulvany's performances, but was highly critical of the show's storyline, commenting that "there is a sense of several soapy subplots bumping against each other, but never really gelling. You are left wanting to get back to the murder, which is the most straightforward part of the story. There is little in the did-she-do-it debate that sets it apart. The 12 aren’t really the focus here, then, and even actors as seasoned as Neill and Mulvany struggle to lift it beyond the realms of a functional thriller."[18] In a review for the Evening Standard, Vicky Jessop give it 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "it’s fascinating stuff, in theory, but never gets enough time to breathe." She goes on to say "you can’t blame the show’s makers for wanting to spice up the court drama formula a little: we get so many that it can be hard to make them stand out, and this is a worthy attempt. But The Twelve ultimately fails to stick the landing. Crime lovers will find plenty to intrigue them; for the casual viewer, the jury’s very much out."[19]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of critics' reviews are positive.[20]

The series was renewed for a second series with production moving away from Sydney to Western Australia.

On average, the series had a viewership of 58,000, and ranked at #3.