Apple TV’s ‘Incredibly Intense’ 8-Part Heist Thriller Is Inside Man Meets The Town

Apple TV is preparing a criminal showdown with 12 12 12, an eight-part thriller starring Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie. The upcoming series combines the elaborate robbery mechanics of Spike Lee’s Inside Man with the morally fraught criminal pursuits of Ben Affleck’s The Town, although that comparison is an editorial assessment rather than a confirmed creative influence. According to Apple’s October 13 trailer announcement, the drama follows a disgraced FBI agent and an American career criminal locked in a trans-European game of cat and mouse. Their collision revolves around an audacious robbery targeting a bank vault beneath Zurich.

Dornan has already teased the project’s nerve-shredding structure. Speaking with co-star Leo Woodall for L’OFFICIEL Italia, he described the story as moving between three timelines and being extraordinarily tense. The premise promises more than another slick heist. Its real hook is what happens before the robbery and how quickly everything unravels afterward.

Why 12 12 12 Feels Like Inside Man Meets The Town

Credit | Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo by Claire Folger

The show’s unusual title is practically a criminal’s stopwatch. According to Jamie Dornan, its premise draws on an FBI concept: an elaborate robbery takes 12 months to plan, 12 hours to execute, and 12 days before the perpetrators can reasonably expect to evade capture. Speaking to L’OFFICIEL Italia, Dornan described the concept as fascinating and the series as extraordinarily tense:

Note: The quotation has been translated into English from the Italian-language interview.

The story pits Dornan’s Paul Galvin against Anthony Mackie’s Jack Strickland, a disgraced federal agent determined to bring him down. Their pursuit stretches across Europe, with the Zurich vault robbery serving as the narrative’s pressure point. Spike Lee’s Inside Man (2006) derives much of its tension from the intellectual duel between Denzel Washington’s detective and Clive Owen’s robber. 12 12 12 promises a similar clash of wits, but its fractured chronology adds a fresh complication: viewers may witness the consequences of a decision before discovering why it was made.

Meanwhile, Ben Affleck’s The Town (2010) explores the personal cost of criminal ambition. That makes it an apt thematic companion, although whether Dornan’s character develops comparable emotional conflicts remains to be seen. Inside Man excels at psychological negotiation, while The Town grounds its robberies in relationships and the difficulty of escaping a criminal past. The critical benchmarks are formidable: Inside Man holds an 86% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score, while The Town stands at 92%.

The most intriguing element of Apple’s newcomer isn’t necessarily the robbery itself. It’s the possibility that three interlocking timelines will turn every apparent victory into a future liability. Still, jumping between planning, robbery, and aftermath could get tiresome if clever storytelling takes priority over believable characters.

When Does Apple’s Eight-Episode Thriller Premiere?

Jamie Dornan in Heart of Stone / Netflix

Apple has confirmed that 12 12 12 will debut globally on November 13, 2026, with its first two episodes. The remaining six installments will arrive weekly through Christmas Day. According to Apple TV’s official release announcement, the complete schedule is:

Apple has not announced a precise global premiere hour. The supporting cast includes Agathe Rousselle, Jack Kesy, Sallie Harmsen, José Garcia, and Kali Reis. Creators Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton developed the series, while Kari Skogland, known for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, directs multiple episodes, including the pilot. Dornan and Mackie also serve as executive producers, giving both actors a creative stake in the project beyond their performances.

The series arrives during a particularly varied period in Dornan’s career. His recent L’OFFICIEL interview also discusses his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, where he is portraying Aragorn, demonstrating his continued appetite for contrasting genres. For Mackie, the role offers an opportunity to exchange Captain America’s superhero responsibilities for a grounded, morally ambiguous pursuit. His experience playing conflicted characters, including in The Hurt Locker, makes him an intriguing foil for Dornan’s career criminal.

Could it rival Inside Man and The Town, or will three timelines become a headache? Share your expectations in the comments, and follow FandomWire for more Apple TV thrillers, Jamie Dornan updates, Anthony Mackie projects, and upcoming streaming releases.