Which Original ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Stars Will Appear in the Netflix Adaptation?

After more than four decades, the Ingalls family is venturing back to television. Production is currently underway on Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie, an adaptation of the same Laura Ingalls Wilder book series that inspired the NBC series of the same name that ran from 1974 to 1983.

Netflix says the new Little House is “part family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West” and “transformed adaptation” of Wilder’s semi-autobiographical books. “The series will offer a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier,” the streamer adds.

Already, producers of the new series have cast Alice Halsey as Laura, Luke Bracey as Charles, Crosby Fitzgerald as Caroline, and Skywalker Hughes as Mary, those actors filling roles originally played by Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, and Melissa Sue Anderson, respectively. Jocko Sims, Warren Christie, Meegwun Fairbrother, Alyssa Wapanatǎhk, Wren Zhawenim Gotts, and Xander Cole have signed on to play new characters.

“I am absolutely thrilled with the brilliant cast we have assembled,” showrunner and executive producer Rebecca Sonnenshine said in a statement. “Each one of them brings something special to the Little House universe and will help make this story come alive for a whole new generation.”

But what about the original stars? Who, if anyone, is returning? Landon and Little House costars Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson), Richard Bull (Nels Oleson), and Victor French (Isaiah Edwards) are no longer with us, but many of the surviving alums have spoken out about the Netflix project. (Just don’t call it a reboot!)

Alison Arngrim is open to returning, and she and Dean Butler are working with one of the EPs.

In February, Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) told Remind that the original Little House cast members hadn’t yet been included in the Netflix adaptation — and that she would be inclined to join the production. “None of us, as far as I know, our gang, are in at this point,” she said. “I have been joking for years that I’m finally old enough to play Mrs. Oleson, so call me.”

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Arngrim and former Little House costar Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) have launched an event company called Prairie Legacy Productions. And Butler told Remind that they’re working with Friendly Family Productions CEO Trip Friendly, who’s one of the executive producers of the Netflix adaptation, and VP Rebecca Friendly on immersive experiences for fans.

“We are in the midst of developing all the licensing that will allow us to do these events using the Little House on the Prairie intellectual property because that’s such an important part of it. It has to be more than just showing up to sign autographs somewhere. There has to be more of an experience than that. And that’s what we are working on with Trip and Rebecca Friendly to achieve the ability to create something that’s more immersive.”

Melissa Gilbert says if the new show needs her, “We’ll talk about it.”

Gilbert told Entertainment Weekly in February she intended to keep mum on the new Little House reboot but was open to discussions with producers. “I said, ‘I’m just not going to comment. I’m just going to let it be because I want them to have their own thing. And if they need me later, we’ll talk about it.’”

But she did defend the Netflix production after ex-Fox News host Megyn Kelly threatened to “absolutely ruin” the new version if it opted to “woke-ify” Wilder’s stories. Replying via social media, Gilbert argued that the Little House TV show was woke all along.

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And Gilbert explained to EW that she welcomes another take on Little House.

“I think there’s room in the Little House universe for all different kinds of stories to be told,” she said. “These are classic stories, and no one’s done it where they hewed to the books completely. [The original] was Michael Landon’s interpretation, and now it’s time for someone else’s interpretation.”

In May, Gilbert took to Instagram to wish Halsey “all the luck in the world” with the new Little House, to which Halsey replied that it was a “true honor” to follow in Gilbert’s footsteps.

Butler says the Netflix show will have a “very difficult” job.

Butler gave his thoughts on the Netflix adaptation to Remind. “One of the first feelings, in all honesty, is probably, ‘Well, if this works, are they going to forget about what we did all those years ago?’ And then the next thought is, ‘It’s going to be very difficult to create something that touches people’s hearts in the way that the original did.’”

As Butler explained, Landon developed a “certain, specific kind of touching, personal, intimate storytelling about the human condition” that connected with audiences at the time, and Netflix’s version can never do the same thing.

“Michael was Michael,” he said. “He was a unique creative presence with this magical touch with an audience. And look, the creative team on the new show may also have a magical touch with an audience, but it’s a different touch, and it will be different.”

Richard Hewett/TV Guide/NBC/Courtesy: Everett Collection

And, Butler said, audience preferences have changed since the original. “What is the television audience and what do they want?” he asked. “There’s a very different expectation. And if this adaptation of Little House can meet the expectation of this more current audience and bring along a few of those who have loved it, it’s going to be very successful.”

Rachel Lindsay Greenbush thinks it’s “great” Netflix is making a new version.

Rachel Lindsay Greenbush, who split the role of Carrie Ingalls with twin sister Sidney, told ReMIND she “can’t wait to see” the Netflix production.

“I think it’s great,” she added. “I think with social media, we tend to think of ourselves more as individuals — and in the story of the series and the books, it’s more about community as a whole, and your neighbor. And I think that’s needed more today.”

She, too, expressed enthusiasm about the possibilities of a new perspective on the Wilder’s classic. “A lot of the fans have really craved more historical content in the story,” she said. “It was a hard time, but it was a simpler time.”

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Melora Hardin says the “feel-good content” would do today’s TV audiences well.

Melora Hardin — who guest-starred as Belinda Stevens, a classmate of Albert Ingalls (Matthew Labyorteaux), in the original Little House and played Michele Pierson, Albert’s love interest, in the 1983 TV movie Little House: Look Back to Yesterday — encouraged fans to have trust in Netflix’s new version.

“I think now is a great time for feel-good content,” she added in a Fox News interview this March. “We need some sweetness. We need some entertainment. I do think there’s a need for warmth and stories that celebrate commitment to family. I think that’s important.”

She added: “I think those good values of the olden days would be a nice thing to have on TV today for young people. So much stuff these days is jaded and so dark. And yet, Little House was just filled with so much love, heart, and good values. Who wouldn’t want to experience that today?”

Netflix’s Little House is neither a remake nor a remake, Arngrim clarifies.

In her own Fox News interview this March, Arngrim emphasized that Netflix isn’t rebooting or remaking the original Little House TV series. “Even the people making it have said, ‘Oh God, don’t call it a reboot.’” she said. “They’re not trying to remake the ’70s show. Everyone has said, ‘Obviously, we can’t recreate that. We don’t want to recreate that. That’s been done. Michael Landon did it, he achieved it, and, boom, it’s good. We’re leaving that alone.’”

Arngrim added that the new version will adapt the first books in Wilder’s series when the character of Laura is a little girl. “So, it will be extraordinarily different from our show,” she said.

And with the involvement of Trip, son of Little House producer Ed Friendly, fans can expect a faithful adaptation on Netflix. “Concerns that they’re going to run amok away from the books and make it into something weird — not happening,” Arngrim told ReMIND in February. “[Trip]’ll pull the plug on it before anything like that happens.”

Little House on the Prairie, TBD, Netflix

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