Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Revival Has Just Found Its Laura Ingalls

The Little House on the Prairie series is one of the most popular children’s Western series of all time. Written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, who is also a character in the books, the series has withstood the test of time and is exceptionally popular even today.

The series was adapted into a highly popular TV series that ran from 1974 to 1983 and showed a total of 200 episodes and five specials. Now, Netflix is working on a reboot of the franchise.

Netflix’s reboot will certainly have a different format, but what we wanted to talk about here is not the structure of the series, but rather the main heroine, who has just been cast!

As you probably remember, Melissa Gilbert famously portrayed the marine heroine, Laura, in the original TV series, so whoever Netflix decided to cast, they had big shoes to fill. But, it seems that they made a great choice.

Namely, we can confirm that Alice Halsey, whose previous credits include playing daughter to Brie Larson in Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry, has been cast as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the series. Described as a troublemaker, Laura is the heart and soul of the show, so Netflix had to make a good pick here and it seems that they did.

Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Vampire Diaries, The Boys) will serve as showrunner on the CBS Studios and Anonymous Content Studio co-prouction and will executive-produce alongside Trip Friendly (son of original series EP Ed Friendly), Joy Gorman Wettels, Dana Fox and Susanna Fogel. Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons in Chemistry, Hanna) is set to direct the first episode.

As for the series, this will be a fresh take on the books, with Netflix describing the whole project as follows:

Laura is a disruptor. Honest to a fault. Questions authority. She’s our window into this adventure. An American icon in waiting. Forget your modern ideas of childhood — the stakes are high for children living in the 19th century. They have responsibilities — and freedoms — that seem extraordinary in this era of helicopter parenting. Mixed in with small pleasures and petty disputes with her older sister are true feats of survival and bravery. Laura is observant, tender, strong-willed, hot-tempered. She resists the bounds of 19th-century ladylike behavior — she likes to run barefoot and feel the sun on her face. She is curious and optimistic and fearless, like her father; resourceful and hardworking and honest, like her mother. She is quick to call out anyone who is cruel or unjust. She loves fiercely and unapologetically and is utterly devoted to her dog, Jack.

This is all that we know at this point, but more updates are to come soon, so be sure to keep following us!

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