After I finished the new take on Little House on the Prairie, streaming on Netflix, I started talking it up to friends, family members and co-workers.
Nobody knew it existed. Hey, everybody: There’s a new version of Little House on the Prairie on Netflix!
A whole season of eight shows is up for you to binge. And that’s not all: It’s already been green-lit for season 2, currently in production. None of this would matter if the whole enterprise sucked—but it’s really good.
I grew up in the ’70s when Little House starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert was not only must-see TV, but mandatory weekly viewing with the family due to its wholesome plots and morality-lesson episodes. The show went way off the rails in its final seasons (Albert getting hooked on morphine was miserable), but it was a good time in its heyday.
The new show has the Ingalls family leaving their home in the Big Woods and winding up in a temporary home in Osage territory, just as in the original pilot movie from the ’70s. The difference here is they do a full season in this location.
Next season, it’s off to Walnut Grove (where the original series was set) and the appearance of one of entertainment history’s all-time-great villains, Nellie Oleson. Actress Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie in the original show, makes a cameo in the new series. See if you can find her.
The original 1974 pilot/movie was grittier than the subsequent TV series. The new show remains grittier, without the schmaltz that wrecked the original late in its run. Luke Bracey is great casting as Charles Ingalls, a rugged, flawed dad who tends to leave his family in perilous situations while he goes out game-hunting. As Laura “Half Pint” Ingalls, Alice Halsey does Melissa Gilbert proud, delivering a Laura as spunky and memorable as the classic version.
Watch the new show with confidence, knowing that it is just the beginning.