Tony Award winner Reed Birney has joined the cast of Limbo, U.S.A., a bilingual LGBT romantic drama that will mark the English-language feature debut of Turkish television star Sercan Badur. Deadline broke the casting on 28 July 2026.

The film follows Mehmet, a celebrated Turkish television star who immigrates to New York, falls in love with a male kindergarten teacher, and must choose between the family and career he left behind and an authentic future. It is an English and Turkish-language production, written by New York-based actor-writers David Beck and Ezgi Cohen. Beck's previous writing credit includes Regarding Us; Cohen's includes Disko Kralı.

Can Merdan Doğan directs, making his feature debut after a run of award-winning shorts. His prior work — Stiletto: A Pink Family Tragedy and The Longest Night — screened at BFI London, Antalya, Ankara, Tel Aviv, and Pink Life QueerFest, the last of which is a queer film festival based in Ankara.

Birney, who won his Tony for the 2016 Broadway production of The Humans, will play John Russell, the father of Adam, a character played by Beck himself. On screen, Birney's credits span The Handmaid's Tale, Succession, If You See Something, and Blue Film. Badur takes the lead as Mehmet. His Turkish credits include the series War of the Roses (Güllerin Savaşı), Time Goes By (Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki), An Anatolian Tale, the Disney+ series Nothing Will Happen to Us, and the films Arif v 216 and Annem.

Catriona Rubenis-Stevens of Half-Light Productions produces alongside Beck and Cohen. Beck produces through The Great Griffon, a New York-based production company dedicated to immigrant and LGBTQ+ stories — a mission that sits squarely with the film's subject matter.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in May 2027, with filming across New York City, New Jersey, and Istanbul. Post-production will take place in Germany.

Badur called the story of a gay man's search for belonging, freedom, and self-discovery profoundly meaningful to him. Beck described the film as being about "the courage it takes to choose love over fear." Deadline reported both statements.

What makes the project stand out is the cross-border architecture behind it. A Turkish director making his feature debut, a Turkish television star stepping into his first English-language role, and a Broadway veteran sharing the frame — all threaded through a story that moves between Istanbul and New York. The production spans four countries across development, shooting, and post, a structure that reflects the independent financing model where a film's geography often follows its funding and creative partnerships rather than studio lot assignments.

The film does not yet have a distributor or a release date. With cameras not rolling until May 2027, audiences are unlikely to see Limbo, U.S.A. on screens before late 2027 or 2028 at the earliest.