A new reboot of the beloved 1970s TV classic revisits the iconic books of Laura Ingalls-Wilder
When a drama series has a predecessor as iconic as Michael Landon’s classic series Little House on the Prairie, not to mention source material read by millions of people around the world, there is no question that an adaptation of said material will open you up to comparisons. Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine calls the task of bringing Little House on the Prairie to screen the honour of her life, but with honour comes responsibility. “These are some of the greatest pieces of American literature that have ever been written. They certainly were influential on me. They set me on my path in life,” says Sonnenshine. Using Laura Ingalls-Wilder’s books as her guide, Sonnenshine says she wanted to give a different perspective to the lives of American settlers in the late 1800s. “It’s a really wonderful opportunity to explore this time in American history from the present,” she says. “How it shaped us, and who we are today.”
The new Little House on the Prairie stars Luke Bracey as Charles “Pa” Ingalls, Crosby Fitzgerald as Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, Skywalker Hughes as Mary and Alice Halsey as Laura — who would go on to write the eight Little House books and numerous other works that the series are based on. “Laura is an icon and beloved over generations,” says Halsey. “She was a writer, a storyteller, an amazing woman. I’m really inspired by her. She’s a really complex character to play. She has a lot of different traits. But one of them, that I especially admire, is that she stands up for what she thinks is right, no matter the circumstances, even when she doesn’t feel like it’s the time to.”
The sometimes fraught relationship between sisters Laura and Mary is at the centre of Sonnenshine’s adaptation, with conflicts more faithful to the books than Landon’s 1970s adaptation. “The relationship between Mary and Laura is ever-evolving,” says Sonnenshine. “They’re each other’s best friends and also each other’s worst enemies. That’s just what it means to have a sibling that you’re close to. In the books it’s a very central relationship. I would say that Laura’s most important relationship in her life was with Mary. And it’s really coming to life in this season.”
What perhaps feels more contemporary than in the 1970s version is the relationship between Charles and Caroline, which is demonstrated by onscreen kisses and other displays of affection. “We had a lot of time to talk about what we wanted to do with Charles and Caroline,” says Fitzgerald. “One of the things we connected on early on was that this is the couple that you strive to be, where they have hardships, they disagree, they fight, but the love is always the thing they come back to.” For Bracey, it was not only the physical affection between Ma and Pa that he was eager to portray. “We really wanted their partnership to be one of mutual respect,” he says. “Every day for the Ingalls family is a challenge. Crosby and I always wanted them to be teammates, and a couple that takes on life together.”
From a historical significance, what was even more important than modernizing the interpersonal relationships for a 21st-century audience was rethinking the depiction of onscreen racial relations, which have been viewed as controversial in both the source material and the 1970s series. “We’re embracing a very humanistic approach to this show,” says Sonnenshine about the portrayal of First Nations people, in this case the Osage. “We really lean into creating fully realized characters — people that you want to know. People that you want to root for. These are characters that are a parallel to the Ingalls family, who are trying to make the best of the future. I think that’s incredibly relatable to everybody, even in this time period.”
The first season takes place in Indian Country of Kansas, where the Ingalls family attempted to settle before moving on to Minnesota. But they did not remain in one place for long, and neither will the series. “The intention is absolutely to follow the books,” says Sonnenshine. “The Ingalls were always on the move, so that is a very exciting element of our show.” Production-wise, this meant moving on from elaborate sets constructed for the purpose of just one season. “The exciting thing about being able to do this with CBS and Netflix is that they are onboard with our idea of moving around a lot, which is a huge production challenge,” says Sonnenshine. “In terms of how you tell the story, [we’re] really focusing on taking a book and telling a story that has a beginning, middle, and end within a season while also allowing for what is yet to come.”
What the new adaptation is never short of is heart. As two of Landon’s wholesome TV series, Highway to Heaven and Little House on the Prairie, are currently being reimagined for a new audience, Sonnenshine believes there is a hunger for shows that bring viewers peace of mind and faith in humanity. “I wouldn’t limit these values as middle-of-the-country,” she says. “This is about people looking to do good works, and people who have faith in their family and community. That is universal — not just for us, for the world. Little House on the Prairie is all about love — it’s a love story about a family — and that’s really what’s appealing. When there’s so much chaos in the world, coming back to what really matters, which is the people you love, the people you hold close, the family that you treasure, being able to tell stories in that framework is a real honour for all of us.”
Little House on the Prairie streams Netflix