These could be other TV shows, films, artworks or music (or anything else!).
Although I'm mainly starting this thread because I myself want to learn about works that have inspired The Return (and find things I should check out!) I'll start with a suggestion of my own - Breaking Bad. It's known that Lynch isn't a TV obsessive, but has watched Mad Men, Breaking Bad and True Detective. I was re-watching Breaking Bad the other day and a sequence struck me as particularly similar to The Return - in Season 5, Episode 3 "Hazard Play". There's a sequence where the protagonists are making meth, and the way its shot reminded me of TPTR Part 8 - in particular, the shots that seem to show the inside of the chemical reactions involved in the meth creation were reminiscent of the atomic bomb sequence in Part 8. Sequence is linked below. There are other things in Breaking Bad i think also may have been influential - its use of (licensed) music, some of its cinematography, and even some of its humour.
https://youtu.be/yT4hfNL4SKY?t=1m16s
Look forward to hearing other suggestions
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