Frances O’Connor returns home to star in award-winning Aussie series The Twelve

Golden Globe-nominated actress Frances O’Connor has returned home to star in the highly anticipated new season of an award-winning Aussie drama.

Frances O’Connor has returned home from the UK to star in the highly anticipated new season of The Twelve.

The British-born Australian actress joins Sam Neill for Season 2 of the award-winning crime drama, which premiered this week on BINGE, with new episodes dropping weekly.

Given the new season was filmed in her home town of Perth and its rural surrounds, the Golden Globe nominee did not need much convincing to return to her stomping grounds of Western Australia.

Frances O'Connor joins the cast of The Twelve with Sam Neill.

“I knew they were going to shoot in Perth, which is the place I grew up. So I also got to spend all this amazing time with my family,” she told news.com.au while promoting the show.

“Usually, I’m coming here and staying with family. This time, I got to have a house here in Perth and I got to host other people and have my family over and kind of treat them. So that was really lovely to be able to do that.”

Stream The Twelve Season 1 and Season 2 on BINGE, available on Hubbl.

While the courtroom scenes were filmed in Perth, the cast also filmed on location in the fictional township of Tunkwell, which was recreated in the small rural town of York, just over one hour away from the CBD.

“It’s a lovely town and the people there are really lovely, very different mix of kind of people, but yeah, retirees and young families. It was good. All that stuff is great for the economy,” the 57-year-old said of the series, which was Western Australia’s largest ever production.

The actress attends the The Twelve Season 2 premiere at The Ritz Cinemas in Sydney on July 8. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The actress, seen here in 2015, has been nominated for two Golden Globes in her career. Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Another drawcard for O’Connor – who has starred in Hollywood films introducing

Mansfield Park and The Importance of Being Earnest – was reuniting with Sam Neill 13 years after they starred on the thriller The Hunter.

In The Twelve, O’Connor plays defence lawyer Nelson-Moore alongside fellow colleague Brett Colby (Neill) who defend Sasha Pierce (Amy Mathews) and her ex Patrick Harrows (Errol Shand) accused of killing Sasha’s wealthy farmer mother, Bernice (Kris McQuade).

O’Connor plays defence lawyer Meredith Nelson-Moore alongside Neill’s Brett Colby. Picture: David Dare Parker

But Colby and Meredith are revealed to be in a long-standing affair and their relationship is put to the test both professionally and personally amid the murder trial.

“It was fun. He’s really cheeky and he’s a lot of fun to work with and he’s really such a lovely guy,” O’Connor said of working with the Jurassic Park star. “I only have amazing things to say about him. He’s just such a lovely guy to work with.”

“I mean, I had a lot of fun in court, all the lawyers, the three of us hanging out together and being silly,” she said, referring to their co-star Fayssal Bazzi, who plays prosecution barrister Jude Persand.

Neill and OConnor with their co-stars Kaila Perrelli (left) and Jennah Bannear. Picture: David Dare Parker

“We did have a lot of fun on that desk and the stakes were pretty high because they film it like it’s theatre in a way. So that was kind of a challenge, but also great. I loved hanging out with Fayssal and Sam was great. Just hanging out socially with those guys and having dinner, it was a really special time.”

For O’Connor, the series just ticked all the boxes from the script to her character to the ensemble cast, which included jurors Josh McKenzie, Anthony Brandon Wong, Stefanie Caccamo, Sharon Johal and Perth-based actress Tasma Walton, who O’Connor had a few “coffee catch-ups” with.

Amy Mathews and Erroll Sand play the co-accused in Season 2. Picture: David Dare Parker

The cast includes Josh McKenzie, Anthony Brandon Wong, Stefanie Caccamo, Sharon Johal and Tasma Walton (front). Picture: David Dare Parker

“I think it was a combination of reading the script, knowing what season one was. Also [production company] Easy Tiger. I really love what they do,” O’Connor said.

“I really liked the character, I think because she’s somebody who’s more in her head than her heart at the start, and I usually play more kind of heart characters, so it was really nice to kind of just exist in that world for a beat.”

“Sam’s really the only commonality between the seasons. He’s the only one that goes forward and everybody comes in a brand new cast. So in a way it feels like a brand new show, but everybody brought their A-game and did great work.”

O’Connor made her directorial debut in 2022 on the bio pic Emily, starring Emma Mackey. Picture: Lia Toby/Getty Images

O’Connor’s appearance on The Twelve comes off the back of her 2022 directorial debut on the biographical drama Emily, which she also co-wrote about the life of English writer Emily Brontë (portrayed by Emma Mackey) and her family.

And it seems directing is in the star’s future.

“I’ve written my next film and we’re kind of casting it and financing it at the moment,” O’Connor shared. “I’ve got my next thing up, but also written my next thing after that. I’m kind of hoping that next year I’ll be directing my next thing, but we’ll just see.

“It takes a longer time to get those things set up. But I’m getting close.”

The Twelve Season 2 is now streaming on BINGE and is available on Hubbl