What Is ‘The Twelve’, Netflix’s New International Crime Thriller?

It’s hard to find a new take on a genre as well-covered as crime, but The Twelve on Netflix has done it. The Dutch drama is the rare crime thriller that doesn’t focus on the ins and outs of its central case. Rather it’s more concerned about how this grisly affair impacts its jurors.

If you’re wondering exactly what The Twelve on Netflix is about, we have your back. From The Twelve‘s cast to whether or not it’s based on a true story, here’s why this new international thriller is worth your time.

What Is The Twelve on Netflix About?

Netflix’s latest international thriller comes from Belgium. The Twelve, also known as De Twaalf, revolves around 12 jurors who have been summoned to judge a grisly murder case. In 2016 Frie Palmers (Maaike Cafmeyer) was accused of murdering her young daughter Roos. As her ex-husband Stefaan De Munck (Johan Heldenbergh) tells it, Frie attacked her daughter with a shard of glass after losing a nasty custody battle. But that’s not the only mysterious death in Frie’s past. While on trial for the murder of her daughter, Frie is also accused of murdering her best friend and her ex-husband’s former girlfriend, Brechtje Vindevogel.

As intense as these charges are, The Twelve is less about Frie’s supposed crimes and more about how this complicated case affects its jury. Each episode explores the personal lives of the jury members while also investigating this case. No matter if they think Frie is innocent or guilty, this crime has a profound effect on the men and women tasked with deciding her fate.

Is The Twelve Based on a True Story?

Sort of. Frie Palmer’s case is entirely a work of fiction. But the story of one of the jurors isn’t. The Twelve primarily follows one of the alternate jurors, Delphine Spijkers (Maaike Neuville). A mother of three, she desperately doesn’t want to be selected for trial, and when she is she does everything possible to escape her civic duty.

Though The Twelve isn’t based on a true story, Delphine’s narrative was inspired by one. While researching Belgium’s court system series creators Bert Van Dael and Sanne Nuyens interviewed several former jurors. That’s when they came across the story of an ex-juror who realized that she was in an abusive relationship due to a case’s own haunting similarities to her own life.

“She said she recognized traits of her jealous husband in the defendant and told us she feared ending up like the victim when she would stay with her husband. After her jury duty she finally had the courage to leave her husband. It was the jury duty that changed her life,” Dael and Nutens told Variety.

Who’s in The Twelve‘s Cast?

If you’re a fan of Dutch actors, you’ll probably be pretty happy. The Twelve stars Luc De Ruelle, Zouzou Ben Chikha, Souad Boukhatem, Maaike Cafmeyer, Maaike Neuville, and Johan Heldenbergh. But for American audiences it’s likely not the cast that’s recognizable but the creators.

Before creating The Twelve Dael and Nutens were responsible for the Belgian supernatural drama Hotel Beau Séjour. The crime noir series follows a teenage girl by the name of Kato who finds herself trapped between life and the afterlife. From limbo she has to help her family and friends solve her own mysterious death.

Watch The Twelve on Netflix