Does Netflix’s “Little House on the Prairie” Deserve Its Top 10 Position?
On July 9, 2026, Netflix released a new “Little House on the Prairie” series more than 50 years after the well-known Michael Landon-led version, which ran from 1974 to 1983. Things have changed a lot in the world since the 70s, and this version of the series (based on the children’s books by Laura Ingalls Wilder) is likewise different from the older series.
If you’re expecting Walnut Grove and the Olsens’ store, you’ll be in for a surprise. This is Kansas, not Minnesota. It isn’t quite as sanitized. And you’ll be surprised at the diversity and the way women are portrayed. This isn’t the story I remember from when I was a child. I had my reservations when I started watching. But I watched the entire season. Read on for my review! (Minor spoilers ahead if you aren’t familiar with the Ingalls’ story.)
“Little House on the Prairie” Synopsis
The Netflix series is inspired by the book of the same name, which was published in 1935. It’s the third in the book series, following “Little House in the Big Woods” and “Farmer Boy.” Charles and Caroline Ingalls and their daughters, Mary and Laura, and their dog, Jack, have left their home in the “Big Woods” of Wisconsin to travel to Kansas because of the promise of land for homesteaders. Charles carries one of the flyers that have been spread all around the Midwest to draw people to Kansas to settle.
What they find in Independence, Kansas, isn’t exactly what they had hoped at first. The town has only just begun to form. There’s no land office (so they can’t actually make a land claim), no church, and no school. There is a doctor, more on him in a minute, a store, and a wealthy railroad man and his wife and twin daughters.
The Ingalls family is directed to a piece of land and sets up camp there. Next begins the task of building a house and finding help to do that. There are complications to this situation, though. The land they’re living on still belongs to the Osage people, and an agreement for the government to buy it hasn’t been finalized. And, if that agreement is settled, the Osage will have to leave their ancestral land. This part is grounded in the reality of what happened when settlers expanded through the lands that would become the United States.
This is a story of family, belonging, and acceptance. But it’s also not shy about the difficulties faced by the people of the Kansas prairie. And that includes the Osage.
The Ingalls Family
Anyone of my generation (Gen-X) knows Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls and Melissa Gilbert as Laura. You have to set that aside for this because Luke Bracey and Alice Halsey are quite different. And the characters aren’t exact matches either. All of the characters and the show’s themes have been remade for a modern audience. And that’s a good thing.
Charles Ingalls is still the protective patriarch of the family, but he is flawed. He’s lost a brother, and he chose not to fight in the American Civil War. He has regrets. And he doesn’t profess to know everything. But he still plays the fiddle and dotes on his daughters, especially Laura, whom he calls Half Pint. Caroline (Crosby Fitzgerald) is dedicated to her family and has trust in her husband, but she isn’t a meek little rabbit. She stands up for herself and for others. This isn’t the Ma of 1974.
Mary (Skywalker Hughes) and Laura are close, and that’s made clear by many of their interactions and how they cuddle at night. But they’re at odds too. Sisters fight, and these two have some big disagreements. They each have agency and their own desires. The series doesn’t focus on Laura as centrally as you might expect. Though Laura is a catalyst. She’s courageous and takes risks. She cares about others and, when she first sees Osage people, she immediately wants to know about them and befriend them.
The People of Independence
You can’t have drama without more characters, and “Little House on the Prairie” has some that you will not forget. If you’ve seen the original series, you know Mr. Edwards is an important part of the Ingalls family’s life. He hasn’t been left out of the Netflix series. Edwards is played by Warren Christie. Like all of the characters, he’s nothing like Victor French (who played Edwards in the original series), but he does a fantastic job.
Jocko Sims is Dr. George Tann. The Netflix cast is a lot more diverse than you might have expected, based on the old series. And I am very glad to see it. Independence, KS, is represented as a more diverse town on the frontier. We also have Emily Henderson (Barrett Doss), who owns the town’s store with her brother.
An Osage family is central to much of the story as well. William Mitchell (Meegwun Fairbrother), his wife, White Sun (Alyssa Wapanatâhk), and their daughter, Good Eagle (Wren Zhawenim Gotts) live near the Ingalls’ homestead. Laura befriends Good Eagle and, through her, the families can overcome distrust.
If there is a villain in this story, it might be Eli James (Michael Hough), though it isn’t that simple. He and his wife, Jemma (Mary Holland), are the wealthy family in town. No spoilers!
The last person I’ll mention is one of my favorite characters, Lacey Aubert (Rebecca Amzallag). She wears trousers, and she’s fiercely independent. You’ll have to watch to see why I like her so much.
What Do I Think About This New “Little House on the Prairie?”
When I saw the show pop up on my Netflix header, I wasn’t sure what to think. After all, I grew up watching Michael Landon as Pa Ingalls in the 70s, 80s, and beyond. I’ve seen every episode of the original “Little House on the Prairie” and most of them multiple times. Would the Netflix remake live up to the original?
I did have my reservations, but it didn’t take long for the story to draw me in and hold me there in the American frontier. The performances, the script, the story; it all added up to a series that was definitely worth my time to experience. I appreciate the way they addressed what was happening with the settlers and the Osage. The Osage people are treated as humans, not just savages to be feared. And the diversity of the cast brought the town to life in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
There’s conflict between Charles and Caroline and between Mary and Laura. And not everything is resolved into a neat conclusion at the end of each episode. Though the Landon series had its difficult moments, I’m left with the feeling that the hardships will be even more realistic as this version of the story continues.
The series itself leaves us wanting more as it’s clear that Season Two will be taking us to Walnut Grove, the setting of the fourth book, “On the Banks of Plum Creek.” The only thing that makes me sad about that is that the folks of Independence are left behind.
Netflix’s “Little House on the Prairie” was absolutely worth seeing. I recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the original series or the books, and to anyone who is encountering this story for the first time. At its heart, this is a story about a family making home wherever they are.
You can watch the entire first season of “Little House on the Prairie” on Netflix now. There are fun activities for kids on the Netflix Family site.
Read more by Michelle Kitz, and you can follow her here.
