TV
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
How Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’ differs from the <a href="https://comicvibe.com/the-cheetah-girls-next-gen-disney-reboots-classic-with-original-cast/” title=”'The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen': Disney Reboots Classic With Original Cast”>original
Netflix’s reboot of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ holds the same values as the beloved 1970s show, but longtime fans might notice 10 big changes
Laura TrujilloUSA TODAY
July 9, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET
Warning: this story contains spoilers from Netflix’s reboot of “Little House on the Prairie,” streaming now
It’s been decades since the original “Little House on the Prairie” first aired, so we’ll forgive you if you need a refresher before Netflix’s reboot
The new show (streaming now on Netflix) is gorgeous – the lighting, the prairie, the fashion (!) – and will transport you to pioneer days, a time many are romanticizing (see: Ballerina Farm) and critiquing (cough cough, “Yesteryear.”)
It still follows the homesteader Ingalls family through the Midwest in the 1800s. The same values that defined the original 1970s series – hard work, family devotion, self-reliance and helping your neighbor – remain its throughline. But readers of the “Little House” books and fans of the Michael Landon-led series will immediately wonder: where’s Baby Carrie?
While much remains the same, the new show feels closer to the books than to the original TV series. That was by design, according to show producers. Viewers see more historical accuracy, such as better featuring the tensions between the Osage and the homesteaders and highlighting Dr. George Tann, a Black doctor from the books
It also means a slower pace than the original, where a one-hour episode began with near famine and ended with fatal dynamite explosions. The pace more closely resembles the books, where it might take an entire chapter for Pa to build a door
As someone who watched all nine seasons of “Little House” as a child, rewatched all 204 episodes again in 2024, read the eight-book series several times, and recently watched all eight episodes of the new Netflix series, the lack of Carrie is just one of the many differences
Here are some of the biggest changes from the original. Spoilers ahead!
Where did Carrie go?
Don’t worry, the new series didn’t cut Carrie. But it’s confusing. The original TV show included Carrie from the start in the covered wagon on the way from Wisconsin. The “Little House” books also had Carrie born in Wisconsin. But Carrie was born in Kansas, and the first episodes of the new series is set as the family arrives in Kansas, before Carrie’s birth. But wait until episode 6!
The third daughter of Charles and Caroline Ingalls isn’t missed in much of the new series. In the first season of the 1970s “Little House,” Carrie was more a prop that actress Karen Grassle, who played Caroline, was often forced to carry
What about their religion?
Within the first 17 minutes of the original series, Charles thanks “the Lord.” The family goes to church. And Caroline chides her husband for not worshipping or resting on the “Lord’s Day.” And let’s not forget the two-part episode, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” which aired in December 1974, where Laura Ingalls ran to a mountain to be closer to God
In the new series, Charles talks about faith, but doesn’t mention God. He is tasked with designing the town’s new church. This is closer to the books, where religion is rarely discussed, though a chapter in “Little House in the Big Woods” mentions how Laura is upset she must listen to Bible stories instead of playing on Sundays
When Netflix announced the new series, many fans worried the show would lose its wholesome feeling. ConservativeTV personality Megyn Kelly posted on X at the time: “Netflix, if you woke-ify ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project.”
The values that anchored the original show continue in the new series: helping others and being kind, doing the right thing, but without the Rev. Robert Alden hammering them home
A dream closet on the prairie
In the original series, Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura, seemed to have two dresses – a brown calico dress and a special blue dress for church. Laura has at least five dresses in the first few episodes. Her signature fabric bonnet has been replaced by a gorgeous straw bonnet, which does little to shield the sun, and a leather wide-brimmed hat
Fans of romantic Sézane and of the more modest dresses from Love Shack Fancy will notice how Crosby Fitzgerald, the actress who plays Caroline, captures that look while looking as if she stepped out of a Dôen photoshoot
Mr. Edwards, a hunk with a backstory
No offense to Victor French’s family from the original series, but Warren Christie is the new hot bachelor in Kansas. Christie plays John Edwards, who becomes close with the Ingalls family
In the original series, Mr. Edwards, as he was known, mostly offered comic relief. Even his drinking was played for laughs. In the new series, more time is focused on Mr. Edwards’ history as a Civil War veteran who is struggling after he loses his wife and two daughters. It’s a much darker story
There’s no place like home, especially when it’s Kansas
Fans of the show might be confused about where the Ingalls settle. The original show focused on the family’s time in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The show was shot at Big Sky Ranch in Southern California
The new series is set on the prairies of Kansas, near Independence. This stays closer to the books, which follow the Ingalls family from Wisconsin to Kansas. They later moved to Walnut Grove. The new show was shot in Manitoba, Canada
Family ties
The original show focused on the strong bond between Pa and Laura so much so that you almost believed that Michael Landon was Gilbert’s actual father. The new series struggles to highlight that bond in the first season. Producers say the new show was created to broaden the perspective beyond that of Laura
Shining a light on the prairie
The original series was groundbreaking in the way it used limited lighting. The scenes were dark, often appearing lit only by oil lamps as they were in pioneer days. In many ways, the darkness felt appropriate to capture the challenges the homesteaders faced. The new series immediately feels different with more lighting on the prairie
New indigenous stories
The new series takes on race relations in a way the original series glossed over, much like the books. Netflix hired an Osage cultural consultant for the new series, trying to highlight the Mitchells, an Osage family, alongside the Ingalls family. The new series more accurately reflects how the Ingalls family and others stole land from the Osage family and the conflicts this created
The clothing worn by the Osage is much more accurate than the stereotypical costumes worn in the original series. Netflix says it worked with an Osage museum to ensure accuracy
Caroline Ingalls as the new tradwife
Caroline, the family matriarch, is shown as a strong woman in both the old and new series. The new series focuses more on her perspective and highlights her traditional role of motherhood at the time, including cooking over a wood stove. But it also shows her strong role in caring for the family by standing up to her husband as well as to her neighbors when they aren’t doing the right thing
Where is Nellie Oleson?
The mean Nellie Oleson in the original series was one of the reasons viewers returned each Monday night. Allison Arngrim played her with such conviction and humor that to this day she remains a favorite at “Little House” fan conventions and when she performs “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch,” her one-woman play. Oleson isn’t in the first season of the new “Little House,” but Netflix has announced they have cast a new Nellie for Season 2
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