Development
In October 2012, Sony Pictures announced that a film adaptation of the Little House on the Prairie novel was under development. [1] In early 2016, it was reported that Paramount Pictures had picked up the project in turnaround, but an agreement was never reached. [2] [3]
In December 2020, Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content announced they were developing a reboot as a one-hour dramatic series adaptation. [4] Meeting together at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2020, cast members of the original series expressed their doubts on the likelihood of success with such a project, suggesting that it would not work without the genius of Michael Landon. [5]
On January 29, 2025, Netflix announced a new series based on the Little House on the Prairie books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder with CBS Studios in association with Anonymous Content Studios, following from the 2020 reboot plans. Rebecca Sonnenshine is showrunner and an executive producer. Trip Friendly, son of original series producer Ed Friendly, is also an executive producer for Friendly Family Productions, alongside Sonnenshine, Joy Gorman Wettels for Joy Coalition, Dana Fox, and Susanna Fogel. [6] [7] [8]
Original cast members Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler told ReMIND Magazine the new series would be more focused on the original books, rather than a reboot of their series. [9] They also responded to the social media reaction from commentator Megyn Kelly, who had posted on Twitter that "if you wokeify Little House on the Prairie I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project." [9] Members of the original cast responded by pointing out that the original series addressed topics that would be considered "woke" today, such as racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and other topics. [9] [10] [11] In the context of the planned Netflix remake, a journalist for The Ankler revisited the tension between producer Ed Friendly, who wanted the original series to be a close adaptation of the books, and Landon, who saw it more as a vehicle for telling modern stories, and questioned how the new series would resolve the interests of new and older audiences, against the backdrop of the continued popularity of the original series. [12]
Casting
An open casting call for the main role of young Laura and other main cast members was announced in March 2025. [13] On May 2, 2025, it was announced that Alice Halsey, Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgerald, and Skywalker Hughes had been cast as Laura, Charles, Caroline, and Mary Ingalls, respectively. [14] [15] It was reported later in May 2025 that a casting call had been issued for characters representing the Osage Nation, with the casting company stating that it was "working as hard as we can to make sure that the characters are represented as authentically as possible, and we have been scouting — and still are — within the Osage community." [16] At the end of May 2025, Jocko Sims, Warren Christie, Wren Zhawenim Gotts, Meegwun Fairbrother, and Alyssa Wapanatâhk were cast as series regular while Xander Cole was cast in recurring capacity. [17] In July 2025, Barrett Doss, Mary Holland, Michael Hough, Kowen Cadorath, Thosh Collins, Maclean Fish, and Rebecca Amzallag joined the cast in recurring roles. [18]
