In 1984, 33 years after the events depicted in The Last Picture Show, 50-year-old Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges) is a wealthy tycoon of a near bankrupt oil company.
In addition to Horseman, Pass By, Larry McMurtry's novels Leaving Cheyenne (1963), The Last Picture Show (1966), Texasville (1987), Duane's Depressed (1999) and When the Light Goes (2007) are set in or around "Thalia".