We’re just so glad it’s not some kind of “dark retelling.” Netflix’s new eight-episode adaptation of Little House on the Prairie channels the famed Laura Ingalls Wilder book series directly, with subtle nods to the hit series that ran from 1974 to 1983 on NBC. And while this one’s a family show, too, it is more aware of the material it’s working from, as well as the sometimes difficult realities of historical fact. Starring Alice Halsey as young Laura Ingalls, Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgerald, and Skywalker Hughes, and developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine, this Little House begins as our homesteading hopefuls make their way from Wisconsin to Kansas in that family truckster of the 1860s, the prairie schooner.
Opening Shot: Filling the frame is a round-brimmed hat, like the one Michael Landon used to wear as Pa in the original Little House. But this one’s worn by 11-year-old Laura Ingalls (Halsey). “Once upon a time,” her voiceover begins, just as the budding storyteller’s eventual semi-autobiographical book series might.
The Gist: Laura tells us how they left their house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin for what Charles Ingalls (Bracey) calls a fresh start in the West. And we see the hope and determination on Pa’s face as he draws the posting from a pocket. “FREE LAND! Come forward and take your homesteads!” The flier doesn’t say anything about the land in Kansas, “ready to be settled,” having already been settled by the Osage people. But in the short term, the Ingalls family in their wagon, with two horses, what possessions they could carry, and a dog named Jack, must navigate their journey without friends or extended family. Nearly sunk by the swift current of a river crossing, they arrive in a town called Independence that’s still in the process of being built.
Charles encounters some hard faces there, and no land office to speak of, but he is able to secure a claim along a gentle creekbend, where tall grass greets the vast sky. And while Mary (Hughes), 14, misses their life in Wisconsin, and Caroline “Ma” Ingalls (Fitzgerald) alludes to why they came out here all alone, Laura, like Pa, is super into the adventure of it all. They are all at the beginning of something, and they will make it together as a family. That’s the plan, anyway.
There are allies here, people to guide the Ingalls as they strike the land by hand. Dr. George Tann (Jocko Sims), and a rough-hewn Southerner, Mr. John Edwards (Warren Christie). There is also an Osage family, rightfully wary of these homesteaders, which includes William Mitchell (Meegwun Fairbrother) and his daughter White Sun (Alyssa Wapanatâhk), about Laura’s age.
And for as many discoveries as our little storyteller makes, there are setbacks, too. Deathly hardships. Pa plays a mournful tune on the fiddle he will have to sell for vital supplies. He’s realizing the gulf between promise, hope, and harsh reality, while his means to make this new life for his family shrink daily.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Speaking of dark retellings, American Primeval is a very, very different show than Little House on the Prairie. Well, yes, but both Western-themed Netflix series share a creative consultant in Julie O’Keefe, who specializes in Native American representation. We’d also point out that Little House will feature episodic direction from Native American filmmaker Erica Tremblay (Reservation Dogs, Dark Winds). And remember, Netflix has done bold adaptations of children’s literature classics before. Anne with an E was great!
Our Take: Somewhat unlike the Ingalls family as they set out for a fresh start Out West, the creators of this new Little House are certainly aware of danger. How could they not be? It’s not 1974. Or even 1932, when the first book in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series was published. Today’s rabid take economy and media environment won’t let any major project pass without sorting it into left-right buckets. A series like this new Netflix Little House will be assumed to speak for whoever wishes to claim it. But for as much as they must have known this would happen, the team behind the camera has chosen to say “Whatever,” and to focus on freshly expressing this material in their own way. And we’ll say it out loud: the result is a resounding success.
Right away, the emotional tenor of this Little House is outside the category of children and family programming, even as it is very much that. A balancing act, surely. But one the series does remarkably well. We’re brought into the wilds of this 19th century world through the eyes of young Laura, just as Ingalls Wilder did with her memories of homesteading life, and the adaptation breaks away from the platitudes of the 1970s Little House series by respecting and centering alternate perspectives on this landscape, both physically and socially. There are problems everywhere in this place, troubles that can’t be solved with just a land deed. Just like our fraught world of today, people need people in order to survive and thrive, and the characters we meet in Little House are each imbued with respect for their journey. We’re looking forward to joining them in this discovery.
Sex and Skin: This is a series presented from a shared perspective. So while Caroline and Charles remember the romance of the night they met, and speak candidly about her history of difficult pregnancies, their intimacy is often expressed through long shots. A passionate kiss while their girls are at play nearby.
Parting Shot: “This will be our new forever!” Laura says this with all of the promise and excitement a little girl can muster about her family’s new adventure. But the distant look Pa gets lets us know he’s considering just how many kinds of wolves could kill their dream.
Sleeper Star: “It is a myth that men can make it out here alone. It’s a pretty story, nothing more.” George Tann speaks facts to Charles Ingalls about life west of the Mississippi, and from his first appearance as Independence’s doctor, Jocko Sims is a steadying presence in this new Little House.
Most Pilot-y Line: “There was trouble in the north, but this is Kansas. The country’s different now. I’d like to know them, too.” Pa’s early summation of ongoing conflict between Native Americans and forces of the federal government is a little too neat. But it still acknowledges the realities of their situation, and offers hope and change at a personal level.
Our Call: The new Little House on the Prairie offers a new point of view on the original Laura Ingalls Wilder children’s book series, and admirably does not make its narrative exclusive to white settler families of the 19th century. It’s also gorgeously shot, with a wonderfully-followable central performance from Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls. STREAM IT!