Twelve
Watch if you enjoy intimate courtroom dramas with a focus on the psychology of the crowd. Don't expect dramatic plot twists every 10 minutes — here the main question is not "who is the killer," but "who are these twelve people deciding someone else's fate." Perfect for evenings when you want tension without shouting and chases.
The premiere on the Flemish channel één (VRT) took place on November 3, 2019, and the series later became available on Netflix. The story revolves around the trial of Fri Palmer, a respected school principal accused of double murder: her best friend in 2000 and her own daughter in 2016. The focus is not so much on the legal battles as on the twelve ordinary jurors, whose traumas, secrets, and prejudices slowly come to light during the proceedings.
The tone is cold, claustrophobic, almost documentary-like. The series balances between procedural and psychological thriller, where tension builds not through explosions but in the pauses between lines in the jury room. There is almost no humor, but a heavy sense that each of the twelve is a mystery, no less than the guilt of the accused.
The format is an anthology with jurors at the center of each season. The first season includes 10 episodes of about 50 minutes, primarily filmed in Ghent and the surrounding areas of Flanders. The series uses flashbacks to reveal the characters' biographies without distracting from the courtroom routine, creating the effect of a slowly tightening ring.
If you were hooked by "The Night Of" or "The Jury," this has a similar mechanic but with European restraint and without Hollywood dramatization. Fans of "The Trial" and slow-paced Scandinavian detectives will feel comfortable, while those looking for a replacement for "The Crown" or "Better Call Saul" with a focus on moral dilemmas should take a look.