What would you do if someone’s life was in your hands? In an Australian first, SBS Original The Jury: Death on the Staircase takes inspiration from a smash-hit format from Channel 4 in the UK to provide insight and analysis on how juries work.
Trial by jury has been described as one of the most ‘’ aspects of our justice system, but is it? The gripping documentary event airs Wednesdays from 6 November at 8.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
Over five unmissable episodes, the series re-enacts a real manslaughter trial (names, dates and locations have been changed to protect the identities in the original trial) with actors reciting real court transcripts word-for-word. But just as in a real court, the new jury is made up of 12 everyday Australians.
Courtroom jurors in The Jury: Death on the Staircase.
We know very little about juries. They are, by law, secret and sacrosanct – until now. There are strident critics who argue jurors are all too often prejudiced, ignorant and inexperienced at their task. The Resolve Political Monitor survey, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on 30 July 2024, revealed only 30 per cent of Australians have faith in the country’s courts and justice system in which juries play a crucial role. How will our jurors use or overcome their own biases, prejudices, and life experience to judge another person’s actions?
The Jury: Death on the Staircase goes behind the scenes of the jury room where cameras and recording devices are normally strictly prohibited, to witness how a cohort of 12 strangers interpret confounding evidence, how they judge the motives and expertise of witnesses, and decode the ingenuity of defence and prosecution tactics.
The series reveals the secrets, challenges, missteps, and wisdom that transpires when ‘the people judge the people’. It also exposes the laws and traditions of the court, encouraging the audience to reflect on all it does right, and where the scales of justice might be skewed.
After persuasive closing arguments, we follow our 12 jurors through an emotionally charged deliberation. Can the jurors work together? Will they arrive at a unanimous decision?
SBS Commissioning Editor, Bethan Arwel-Lewis said: "We’re so excited about this fascinating and ground-breaking series. It’s SBS’s role to create programs that drive national conversation around important issues, and the series absolutely does this, but as a gripping true crime TV event. Seeing the inner workings of a jury for the first time, what’s clear is that the deliberation room is a place of heightened emotion and jeopardy with huge stakes. It’ll provoke audiences to look at their own perspective and what they would do if faced with the ultimate decision. The series closes with a revealing episode you don’t want to miss!”
Northern Pictures, Series Director Tosca Looby said: “Creating this series has been a career highlight. It has required collaboration with a fabulous team across both drama and documentary, courts, and legal professionals and, most importantly, twelve ordinary citizens willing to put themselves to the test in a criminal trial. Despite months of precise planning, the final outcome was out of our hands and impossible to predict.”
The Jury: Death on the Staircase is a Northern Pictures production for SBS. Major production investment from SBS in association with Screen Australia. Financed with the assistance of Screen NSW, who also supported post, digital, and visual effects. Based on a format created by ScreenDog Productions and distributed by Blue Ant Studios.
The Jury: Death on the Staircase will be subtitled in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
The Jury: Death on the Staircase airs weekly from Wednesday 6 November at 8.30pm on SBS with each episode then available to stream free on SBS On Demand.
