Little House on the Prairie, the American Western historical drama TV series that ran for nine seasons from September 11, 1974, till March 21, 1983, may not be getting a reboot anytime soon, if ever, despite past reports about one being in development. The show focused on the Ingalls family, who live on a farm on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s–90s and starred Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls, Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls, and twins Lindsay and Sydney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls.
The series has certainly come a long way and will be marking its 50th anniversary this September. In honor of that, some of the Little House on the Prairie stars recently reunited at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, where they also had a chat with People Magazine, revealing why fans shouldn’t expect a reboot. According to Grassle, who played the matriarch of the Ingalls family, “There have been lots of attempts to do a Little House on the Prairie again. There have been shows, there [has] been a musical, and I think we had a unique experience, and it can’t be repeated.”
The movie star further spoke of Landon’s (who played her onscreen husband, Charles) unmatched contribution to the show. “Michael was a genius at casting and writing. He understood things about how to translate that material into television for the public that was beyond what most writers understand. And he had his thumb on the pulse of the public and understood what people were longing for, and you don’t find that every day.” Besides starring in Little House on the Prairie, Landon served as an executive producer and writer for the show.
‘Little House on the Prairie’ Is Incomplete Without Michael Landon
Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s best-selling series of Little House novels, Little House on the Prairie featured a laudable ensemble of stars thanks to the late Landon, who sadly passed away in 1991. Grassle, who was joined by fellow stars Alison Arngrim, Anderson, Matthew Labyorteaux, Leslie Landon and Wendi Lou Lee at the festival, could not help but gush more about the casting, saying, “And then the fact that we were all so perfectly cast was a kind of genius.”
Fellow Little House on the Prairie cast member Anderson also voiced her beliefs about the series being not likely to have a reboot considering that Landon wouldn’t be a part of it. She said, “Little House works on television because of him;” nonetheless, Arngrim, who played Harriet Oleson’s (Katherine MacGregor) daughter Nellie, later remarked on what character she would love to play if a reboot ever happens. “I always joke that if they do redo the entire thing, I am ready to play Mrs. Oleson,” she said. “Absolutely, I’m down for that.”
