’12 12 12′ is the final boss of nonlinear TV

From multiple timelines to extended flashback episodes, you can barely get through a TV show nowadays without taking a hop, skip, and a jump through time.

Of course, TV has a rich tradition of playing with chronology. Lost‘s nonlinear approach revolutionized episodic storytelling, inspiring mystery-box series with several timelines like Westworld and Yellowjackets. Its use of character-focused flashbacks also lingers today, present everywhere from Paradise to Euphoria. While these techniques can build out fun puzzles or deepen our knowledge of characters, they can also devolve into nothing more than flashy gimmicks. Case in point: Apple TV’s new heist drama 12 12 12.

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12 12 12 presents three timelines.

12 12 12 unfolds across three different timelines: the 12 months of planning leading up to a billion-dollar heist on a Swiss bank; the 12 hours of the heist itself; and the 12 days after, in which FBI agent Jack Strickland (Anthony Mackie) hunts thief Paul Galvin (Jamie Dornan) and his accomplices.

If you forget the structure of the show, don’t worry. 12 12 12 lays it out for you at the top of every episode with the help of voiceover from Mackie. It also uses a series of split screens to remind you when we’re entering a new timeline, be it “The Planning,” “The Heist,” or “The Takedown.” The amount of hand-holding to get you onboard with the show’s premise alone feels tailor-made for audiences who are second-screening the show, a stark contrast from other multi-timeline shows that trust audiences to pick up on context clues.

Did 12 12 12 even needs its convoluted timelines?

Anthony Mackie as Jack in “12 12 12.”
Credit: Apple TV

On paper, 12 12 12‘s timeline idea is fascinating. Yet even though the show is built around nonlinear storytelling, the cracks in its conceit quickly begin to show.

A large driving force of any heist story is the tension of whether an unlikely team can pull off an even more unlikely robbery. 12 12 12 undercuts much of that tension from the get-go. During the “Planning” timeline, we know thanks to the “Heist” timeline that the heist will eventually take place. During the “Heist” timeline, we know thanks to the “Takedown” timeline that the money makes it out of the bank vault. Any supposed roadblocks feel hollow. Only the “Takedown” causes any adrenaline spikes, as Jack and Paul’s cat-and-mouse game begins in earnest, with no definitive outcome spelled out for us.

Another driving force of heist stories is the how of the heist, all the delicious twists and turns and plans within plans that play out during the job. These twists could have solved 12 12 12‘s tension problem. However, the show becomes far too liberal with them down the line, seemingly in hopes of keeping the wool over our eyes, as if to prove we don’t actually know the arc of the story.

As 12 12 12 veers into increasingly bizarre territory — an incident with an avalanche earned a major groan from me — it sacrifices credibility and character. Despite solid performances from Dornan and Mackie, neither Paul nor Jack truly break free from classic heist archetypes. The former is a charismatic criminal roped into one last job before settling down as a family man. The latter is an overworked agent with an obsessive drive to catch these criminals. The pair at least fare better than the other underutilized members of Paul’s team, most of whom are total afterthoughts. Even when they’re introduced in the “Planning” timeline, there is no “aha” moment of recognition, because there’s so little of them to latch onto in the “Heist” and “Takedown” timelines.

Would 12 12 12 work better if it wasn’t so tied to TV’s nonlinear trend? Perhaps. The heist and its aftermath do come with the occasional slick thrill. Unfortunately, they’re so tied up in clichés that said thrills wear off fast. The freshest thing about 12 12 12 remains its structure, but in an age dominated by nonlinear storytelling, this seemingly out-of-the-box structure becomes the last thing it wants to be: conventional.

The first two episodes of 12 12 12 are now streaming on Apple TV, with a new episode every Friday.