‘Little House on the Prairie’: Don’t Expect These Iconic Characters in the New Reboot
What To Know
- The Netflix reboot of Little House on the Prairie will offer a grittier, more authentic adaptation.
- Many iconic characters from the 1974 TV serieswill not appear in the reboot since they were created specifically for the original show.
- The new series will focus on the Ingalls family, while the inclusion of composite characters remains uncertain.
Casting for the Little House on the Prairie reboot is complete, and production on the eagerly anticipated Netflix series is well underway. Led by showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine, the new adaptation will draw directly from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, placing a sharper focus on the Ingalls family’s day-to-day survival. This version will offer a more authentic and gritty perspective than the comfy, nostalgic tone of the 1974 television classic.
The original series, which ran from 1974 to 1983, became a beloved staple in households for generations thanks to decades of syndication. Viewers grew up alongside the trials and triumphs of the Ingalls family and the colorful residents of Walnut Grove, forming deep attachments to characters who felt like neighbors.
While many fans are eagerly awaiting the reboot, some may be surprised (and perhaps disappointed) to learn that several familiar friends and fixtures from Walnut Grove will not appear in this new retelling, as the show remains committed to staying closer to the source material. The reboot will focus on the Wilder family, including Alice Halsey as young Laura, Skywalker Hughes as Mary, and Luke Bracey and Crosby Fitzgerald as Pa and Ma. But people who were made up for the show will not be in the reboot.
“It’s not really like a reboot, they’re not going back to Walnut Grove,” says Alison Arngrim, the former bad girl, Nellie Oleson. “They’re not going to have Doc Baker and Miss Beadle, and they’re certainly not going to have Al Burton, and all the people who were made up for the show. It is going back to the books.”
Katherine Cannon and Merlin Olsen in ‘Father Murphy.’ Credit: Gene Trindl / TVG / ©NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection
That’s right. Sadly, Dr. Hiram Baker (Kevin Hagen) will not be included in the upcoming adaptation. Though there was a doctor who treated the Ingalls for malaria in the books, the recurring character of Doc Baker was a TV invention.
Other characters who were on the show but not in the books included:
- Albert Quinn Ingalls (Matthew Labyorteaux) – The young boy who was adopted by the Ingalls in the show
- Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer):- The blind teacher that Mary married.
- The Garvey family – Jonathan, Alice, and Andy (Merlin Olsen, Hersha Parady, and Patrick Labyorteaux) were not present in the books.
- Jenny Wilder (Shannen Doherty) – Laura and Almanzo’s niece was not part of the original, documented family story.
- Cassandra and James Cooper (Jason Bateman and Missy Francis) – Adopted children created specifically for the TV storylines.
- Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy) – Nellie Oleson’s husband, a Jewish man who teaches her to cook and manage the hotel that was created for the show.
Both Nellie Oleson and Mr. Edwards (Victor French) appeared in the books, but were composite characters made up of several people that Wilder knew. As much as everyone adored the nasty little wench in blonde curls, Nellie was a composite based on three different girls: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert, while Edwards was an amalgam of several people. It is unclear how they will appear on the show at this time.
And please don’t worry about little Carrie. Though she isn’t listed in the cast, it is because she isn’t in the first book. Carrie Ingalls was born later and became a more prominent character in later books.
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