Karen Grassle Thought ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Would Only Run For a Few Years

Lauren Novak February 27, 10:00 am

Karen Grassle as Ma in 'Little House on the Prairie' — Everett Collection

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Karen Grassle initially expected “Little House on the Prairie” to last only a few years and hoped to return to theater work after making some money.
She was surprised by the show’s long-lasting success, participating in eight seasons and later reconnecting with fans, which she now considers a gift.
Despite past tensions with creator Michael Landon, Grassle expressed forgiveness and gratitude for the opportunities the show provided her.

Karen Grassle, best known for playing Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, has admitted she never stepped onto the set of Little House on the Prairie expecting it to become the kind of series audiences would still be discovering and embracing decades later.

In an interview with The Jim Masters Show, Grassle said she thought the show would be successful but did not know it would become such a phenomenon. She explained that she loved theater and worried about being tied up in television for too long. When she got the job, she needed the work, but she also remembered thinking, “Oh dear, this thing, this is going to run probably for three years.” She hoped to make some money and get back to the theater. Of course, things worked out very differently.

Grassle noted that eight years passed almost before she knew it. She clarifies that she did eight seasons of the original series, and that the show later transformed into Little House: A New Beginning for a ninth year, in which she did not appear in. “No, I never dreamed it would go on like that. I would have been appalled, but I’m grateful now.”

Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983) Karen Grassle, Michael Landon, Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert & Lindsay Greenbush

Everett Collection

Grassle shared that she separated herself from the series after it ended and went on to other work, only fully reconnecting with audiences years later. That reconnection changed her perspective on the entire series. She describes the love from fans she now receives as “quite astonishing” and calls it “a gift” she didn’t even know existed when the show was originally airing. While her feud with the show’s creator and star, Michael Landon, did pull her away from the show and its fans for a while, she said she reconnected with longtime fans after the release of her memoir, something she is now very grateful for.

She added in an interview with BuzzFeed about her time with Landon, “Even though Mike gave me a pretty hard time for some years, I have absolutely no hard feelings. I have only forgiveness and appreciation for his gifts and the opportunity that he gave me. We sorted things out before he passed.”