Fans of Synchronic rejoice! Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan are back together for an exciting new Apple TV+ series in which the pair dive into an intense cat-and-mouse game.
Mackie and Dornan star as Jack Strickland and Paul Galvin—an FBI agent (Mackie) and a seasoned thief (Dornan)—who find themselves in Europe, encountering advanced security systems and nefarious businessmen who will stop at nothing to get the money they were promised.
Dornan noted how modern technology pushes his character’s craft to absolute extremes. In the show, the target isn’t just guarded by vaults and lasers; the security system includes AI capable of measuring human stress levels in real time.
“If there’s one guy who’s going to pull this off, it’s him,” Dornan remarked on his character’s motivation. “Anyone trying to pull off a heist in modern day is insane… Back in 1936, you could back yourself to pull the wall off a bank and get away quite easily. But these days, with the AI of it all, it’s lunacy. That’s what makes it so exciting. This guy still backs himself to find a way.”
Unlike straightforward procedural thrillers, 12 12 12 challenges its cast and audience with an intricate web of time jumps. The plot unfolds across three distinct layers—the same 12 months, the same 12 days, and the same 12 hours. Mackie, who plays Jack, explained how the show’s structure drew him to the project: “Jim and Dudi gave us brilliant scripts,” Mackie shared. “You have the ability to see something happen, show why it happened, show how it affected you, and then show where you were before it happened—just mixing it all up.”
Despite the heavy tension on screen between their characters, Mackie and Dornan brought plenty of off-camera camaraderie to their press tour. When asked how they built their psychological rivalry, Mackie joked: “He’s so cute, it’s hard to dislike this dude. It took a lot of acting and preparation! I’d hit the punching bag, put a picture of his face on it, and just beat him up for 30 minutes every day just to get ready for work.”
Joke dynamic aside, the conflict hinges heavily on the emotional baggage each man brings to the chase. Creators Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble emphasized that 12 12 12 is less about “good guys vs. bad guys” and more an exploration of personal myths and generational trauma.
“We all say we’re not going to be our father when we step into fatherhood,” Appleton reflected on Paul’s journey. “A lot of it is admitting who you really are. You’re a thief, and it’s not because of your father—you just like stealing things. These men are trying to convince themselves of their own myths.”
Keeble added regarding Jack’s spiral: “Jack has huge trauma and loss. Is he the pure cop going after justice, or is he a man who believes in revenge? Once he’s crossed such a big line, there’s no going back—he’s steeped in it.”
The series premieres November 13 on Apple TV.
