Balestra Set to Strike: New Regency and QCODE Unleash Dream-Thriller with Cush Jumbo This September

Cush Jumbo - photo cred.: Celeste Sloman; Manny Jacinto - photo cred.: Jonny Marlow; Nicole Dorsey – photo cred: Brendan Calton / Cush Jumbo stars as a fencer on the edge of reality in Balestra, the next QCODE x New Regency thriller.

BALESTRA BRINGS PSYCHOLOGICAL SWORDPLAY TO STREAMING THIS FALL

Fresh off the sleeper success of Edge of Sleep, New Regency and QCODE are keeping the momentum sharp with their second slate release: Balestra. The new psychological thriller premieres late September and stars the magnetic Cush Jumbo, known for her powerful work in Criminal Record, The Good Fight, and The Beast Must Die.

This marks the second of five original titles in QCODE’s joint venture with New Regency, following Edge of Sleep—which not only launched on Prime Video Direct but quickly climbed into the platform’s Top 10 before making its way to Tubi. That series starred and was executive produced by YouTube megastar Markiplier, drawing in a broad audience for the debut.

But where Edge of Sleep played with apocalyptic dread, Balestra plunges into the mind.

THE PREMISE:

A competitive fencer is selected to test an experimental device that allows her to train inside lucid dreams. But as she blurs the lines between mental projection and physical endurance, a mysterious stranger begins to unravel her marriage, her identity, and her pursuit of Olympic gold.

Yes—it’s Inception meets Whiplash with a fencing blade.

Directed by Nicole Dorsey (Black Conflux) and written by Imran Zaidi from a story by Aron Coleite, Balestra delivers a hybrid of elite sport pressure, dream-state sci-fi, and psychological breakdowns.

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STARRING:

• Cush Jumbo (The Good Fight, Criminal Record)

• Manny Jacinto (The Acolyte, Freaky Friday)

• James Badge Dale (1923, Hightown, Devil in Disguise)

• Christin Park (Surface, Charmed)

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BEHIND THE SCENES:

The series boasts a powerhouse team of executive producers including:

• Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan, and Michael Schaefer (New Regency)

• Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Justin Levy (Automatik)

• Cush Jumbo, Nicole Dorsey, Aron Coleite, Imran Zaidi, and more

Dorsey’s Black Conflux was named one of TIFF’s Top Ten Canadian Films, and her work here continues the trend of female-led, psychologically rich storytelling QCODE is quietly dominating.

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With Balestra, QCODE is solidifying itself as a streaming label to watch—and Cush Jumbo, as always, brings ferocity and depth that make her must-watch talent. We’ll be tuned in late September when the blade drops.