Wasteman 2026

Taylor, David Jonsson, a prison cook who has spent 13 years behind bars, learns he may be eligible for early release if he maintains good behaviour. He regularly cuts hair for Gaz, Corin Silva, and Paul, Alex Hassell, from whom he buys drugs to fuel his addiction, and he manages to establish contact with his now 14-year-old, estranged son, Adam, Cole Martin.

While he tries to fill out the release form, Taylor is paired with a new cellmate, Dee, Tom Blyth, who begins selling drugs soon after arriving and starts draining Gaz’s and Paul’s share of the market. A fragile friendship forms as Taylor opens up about a past tragedy: he accidentally killed a teenager by selling him drugs to provide for Adam, a manslaughter charge that landed him in prison. Dee lets Taylor use his phone to reach Adam and even sends Adam a pair of expensive trainers via a friend on the outside as a gift from Taylor.

Gaz and Paul, furious at losing control of the prison’s drug trade, brutally beat Dee and leave him unconscious, while Taylor stands back and feels powerless. The attackers force Taylor to punch Dee, filming the event to circulate around the prison, and Dee is hospitalized as a result. When Dee returns, he retaliates against Taylor for not backing him up, forcing Taylor to become a mule for the drugs, delivering drops across the courtyard.

During a drop, Gaz and his associates intervene, trying to seize the drugs, but Dee launches an attack on them, sparking a riot among the inmates. Gaz and Paul respond by posting a video that lures other prisoners to kill Dee in exchange for money, escalating the tension inside the facility. Meanwhile, Taylor begins to suffer through a painful withdrawal from Subutex, the drug he has become dependent on.

Dee then coerces Taylor into stealing a knife from the kitchen, threatening that if Taylor refuses, Dee will have his friends on the outside kill Adam. With only a day left before release, Taylor cooks Dee a meal and heads toward the moment of truth: he intends to kill Gaz and Paul during Dee’s haircut. He does not go through with it, returning to his cell only to find Dee has overdosed on the drugs he spiked into his food. After a brief confrontation, Dee collapses. Taylor shares a joint with Dee in a moment of grim solidarity before Dee dies.

The following morning, Taylor arranges Dee’s body to look like a night-time overdose, a cover that lets him walk free. As the gates open for his release, a fellow prisoner films him leaving the grounds, closing the chapter on a tense and morally complicated escape.