This story is part of our Best Things in Texas package, which appeared in the December 2025 issue.

As far as Texans in Hollywood go, it was obviously Glen Powell’s year: The Austinite and Texas Monthly cover boy starred in Edgar Wright’s blockbuster The Running Man and also headlines and cowrote the rollicking Hulu series Chad Powers . But Powell was just one of many Texans (both real and imagined) who appeared in films and television shows in 2025, not to mention the many other instances in which our state made its presence felt—through soundtrack, setting, or story—on screens big and small.

Take King of the Hill , which returned with a reboot in August and was recently renewed for another thirty episodes; Austin-based director Noah Hawley , whose thrilling Alien: Ear

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