A star of Little House on the Prairie has confirmed the original cast won’t be returning for the reboot. Earlier this week Netflix announced it would be bringing back the 70s drama that originally aired for nearly a decade. Loosely based on the Little House on the Prairie book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the TV series of the same name first hit screens in 1974. The American Western historical drama was set in the period between the 1870s to1890s and followed the Ingalls family, who lived on a farm in Minnesota.
It starred Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, and twins Lindsay and Sydney Greenbush. However a few days on Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson from 1974 to 1982, confirmed that she and her fellow original cast members wouldn’t be appearing in the new episodes. ‘None of us, as far as I know, our gang, are in at this point,’ she told ReMIND. But she jokingly added: ‘I have been joking for years that I’m finally old enough to play Mrs. Oleson, so call me!’.
She then went on to reveal the new series was ‘not really like a reboot’ and ‘would not be going back to Walnut Grove’. ‘This [show] is part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder multiverse. So concerns that they’re going to run amok away from the books and make it into something weird — not happening.’. Her comments addressed backlash the reboot received this week, when some original fans said they didn’t want it to be ‘woke’.
A tweet from Megyn Kelly in which she said she’d make it her ‘singular mission to ruin the project’ if it was ‘wokefied’ led original star Melissa Gilbert (who played Laura Ingalls Wilder) to hit back. ‘Umm…watch the original again. TV doesn’t get too much more “woke” than we did,’ she posted on X. ‘We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other “woke” topic you can think of. Thank you very much.’.
Although the response from critics on the first season was far from glowing, and ratings took a while to pick up, the series became a fan favourite and went on to run for nine seasons, eventually ending in 1983. Over the years fans have labelled it ‘timeless’, ‘inspiring’ and even ‘one of the greatest TV shows in history’. When announcing the new series, Netflix said it would offer a ‘fresh take on the iconic story’.
The reboot will be led by Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys, The Vampire Diaries) as showrunner and executive producer. The streaming service has already teased the following of the upcoming 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.’.
Netflix’s vice president of drama series’ Jinny Howe said the reboot would ‘thread the needle with an emotional depth that will delight both new and existing fans of this beloved classic’. However, reactions from fans of the original was mixed. ‘We don’t like your reimagining’s. We want it to stay true to the original,’ Cat posted on X. ‘Please don’t screw this up. This series means a lot to a lot of people. This was my favourite book series as a kid,’ user CW23 wrote.
However positive reactions also flooded in too. ‘My childhood 😭 I loved the NBC series growing up. I’m actually super excited about this!’ Emily shared. ‘Loved the series. Excited for what this one might bring,’ loveonlyworks added. ‘That sounds exciting! A fresh take on Little House on the Prairie could bring a whole new perspective to the classic story. Looking forward to seeing how Netflix reimagines the struggles and triumphs of frontier life,’ fasbite added.
Despite first airing over 50 years ago, the original series continues to remain popular with fans. Last year it was reported that the Little House on the Prairie, which streams on Peacock in the US, was watched more than 13 billion minutes in 2024. Meanwhile the books, which were published in the 1930s and 1940s and have been translated into at least 27 languages, have sold more than 73 million copies to date.
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