Readers beware, the reboot train of the 2020s continues in 2025. The next property to get this treatment is Little House on the Prairie, whose original TV run lasted from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. For those who aren’t familiar, the show followed the very traditional and Christian Ingalls family, who lived on a small farm in rural Minnesota in the late 1800s. Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s popular book series of the same name, the live-action adaptation became a hit among viewers. Now, Little House on the Prairie is set for a reboot at Netflix.
The show has found its most important cast member: Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls. She is the protagonist and whom we will experience the series through, after all. Here’s a (very long) description of the character courtesy of Deadline:
Laura (Halsey) is a disruptor. Honest to a fault. Questions authority. She’s our window into this adventure. An American icon in waiting. Forget your modern ideas of childhood — the stakes are high for children living in the 19th century. They have responsibilities — and freedoms — that seem extraordinary in this era of helicopter parenting. Mixed in with small pleasures and petty disputes with her older sister are true feats of survival and bravery. She is observant, tender, strong-willed, hot-tempered. She resists the bounds of 19th-century ladylike behavior — she likes to run barefoot and feel the sun on her face. She is curious and optimistic and fearless, like her father; resourceful and hardworking and honest, like her mother. She is quick to call out anyone who is cruel or unjust. She loves fiercely and unapologetically and is utterly devoted to her dog, Jack. She rubs some adults the wrong way — too many hard questions, too much personality, too much energy — but to the people who matter, she’s a bright light. She absorbs every detail she sees around her, collecting them for stories she will someday share with the world.
Additionally, Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgerald and Skywalker Hughes will play Charles Ingalls, his wife Caroline, and Mary Ingalls, respectively. Deadline reports that Jocko Sims, Warren Christie, Wren Zhawenim Gotts, Meegwun Fairbrother, and Alyssa Wapanathk will be series regulars and Xander Cole will be in a recurring role. Sims and Christie will play characters from the books, Dr. George Tann and John Edwards, respectively. Gotts, Fairbrother, Wapanathk and Cole will play new characters, members of Osage family.
According to Variety, Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys, Archive 81) will be the show’s executive producer and showrunner. It is an interesting choice considering the rather chaotic state of our world and the ongoing push for “traditional/old-school values” that aims to put people into heteronormative social boxes in the name of upholding religious standards that not everyone believes in. The original series was indeed into church, faith, etc., even when it tackled controversial topics within its idealized nuclear family.
Sure, this Little House on the Prairie reboot could go down an unexpected and more liberal-minded pathway, but then it would not quite be the same. A period drama based around these characters could be fun if it is willing to take some big swings, subvert expectations, and challenge period norms while examining trials and tribulations of living off the land. (Seriously, people need to see that the most, since everyone thinks they want to be homesteaders these days.) We shall see which way it sways under Sonnenshine’s oversight.
Anyway, here’s the official logline for this series:
“Part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West, this fresh adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s iconic semi-autobiographical ‘Little House’ books offers a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.”
Of course, this recent greenlight means there isn’t much more information at this time. Until then, those who want to watch the original series can watch it on Peacock.
Originally published on January 29, 2025.