Among the many remakes and reboots that perhaps few expected is likely that of Little House on the Prairie. Yet the original series, which centered on the adventures of the very traditional Ingalls family in the Wild West in the late 19th century and originally aired between 1974 and 1983, continues to be successfully rerun even today, boosting ratings for a channel like Mediaset’s Twentyseven. But apparently, a “fresh start” was needed—a new beginning like the one the revamped Ingalls family seeks in the trailer for the Netflix reboot. The new production now also has a teaser clip, which introduces us to the new protagonists (including the couple at the center of the story, played by Luke Bracey and Alice Halsey) who have just moved to the tiny town of Independence, Kansas, where there isn’t even a school—much to their daughters’ delight.
The new series seems—albeit with a decidedly more modern style and production values—to want to preserve the original thematic core, with these pioneers grappling with the wilderness, the hardships of daily life, illness, and… wolves. Even in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, which inspired the entire saga from the very beginning, the intent was to show how the conquest of the West carried with it a universal inspiration that was quintessentially American. “I fell deeply in love with the books when I was five years old,” said showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys, Vampire Diaries): “They inspired me to become a writer and a filmmaker, and I’m thrilled and honored to adapt these stories for Netflix’s new global audience.”
It is certainly thought-provoking that the new version of Little House on the Prairie comes at a time when the United States (and indeed the world) is looking to an idealized, idyllic past as a model of purity and happiness, in contrast to the chaos—including moral chaos—of the present. Just consider the “trad wives” phenomenon—young women making a name and money on TikTok by portraying themselves as perfect old-fashioned housewives, complete with hand-sewn aprons, cows, homemade jams, and blind devotion to the family. Even when this reboot was announced last January, a heated debate erupted overseas, pitting those who feared a “woke” shift in a show that seemed so traditional on paper against those who argued that the original series was already quite progressive, for example on issues such as women, racism, and Native American affairs.
And right in this trailer, there’s a telling exchange: “They can’t come into my house without an invitation,” Mr. Ingalls says at one point, referring to the Native American tribes glimpsed in these early scenes, to which his interlocutor replies, “They might say the same thing.” Other innovations include the introduction of BIPOC characters, such as Dr. George Tann, played by Jocko Sims. So will the new Little House be woke or progressive? Will it idealize the good old prairie values or expose their irreconcilable contradictions? We may only find out when the first season debuts on Netflix starting July 9.
