Little House On The Prairie star reveals why beloved show was NEVER meant to return... ahead of Netflix reboot
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One of the leading stars of the classic series, Little House On The Prairie, has revealed why the show was never meant to return ahead of the 'woke' Netflix reboot.
Melissa Gilbert - who portrayed Laura Ingalls on the NBC series - opened up to Entertainment Weekly for the 41st anniversary of the TV movie Little House: The Last Farewell.
The film premiered on February 6, 1984 - and served as the series finale for the show which aired its first episode in 1974.
Michael Landon - who was the show's creator and also took on the role of Charles Ingalls - made the decision to blow up the town of Walnut Grove in response to NBC abruptly cancelling the series without notifying him.
The demolished town was played into the movie as the residents' response to a tycoon wanting to take over Walnut Grove.
'I knew that he wanted to demolish everything because he was so angry that NBC never called him to tell him the show was officially canceled,' the actress, 60, expressed.
One of the leading stars of the classic series, Little House On The Prairie, has revealed why the show was never meant to return ahead of the 'woke' Netflix reboot
'We just weren't on the fall schedule after not just 10 years of Little House, but years of Bonanza.'
Landon had also starred in Bonanza as Joseph 'Little Joe' Cartwright until the show came to an end in 1973 - one year before Little House On The Prairie premiered.
'It was just such a disrespectful thing to do to him. I do remember reading the script and going, "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho. Wow!" For me personally, that whole experience from reading the script until the last day was the longest funeral I'd ever attended.'
Gilbert admitted, 'It was so heartbreaking. Every day it was somebody else's last day. Every day we had to say goodbye to someone else.'
'And then when they blew it all up and we gathered that final, final day, it was just devastating and horribly, horribly sad.'
In Melissa's memoir titled Prairie Tale: A Memoir - which was published in 2009 - she had written that Michael blowing up the set was a 'f*** you to the network.'
She told EW, 'One of the things we talked about was his desire to not have anyone else use our sets - like to have some porn out there shooting [on old Little House sets].'
'Those were ours. We built them. I mean, I had so many major life experiences in and around all of those buildings, as did everyone on the cast and crew. That place was sacred to us in a big way.'
Melissa Gilbert (seen far right) - who portrayed Laura Ingalls on the NBC series - opened up to Entertainment Weekly for the 41st anniversary of the TV movie Little House: The Last Farewell
'I knew that he wanted to demolish everything because he was so angry that NBC never called him to tell him the show was officially canceled,' the actress expressed
'It was just such a disrespectful thing to do to him. I do remember reading the script and going, "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho. Wow!"' she added; Landon seen above in 1974
The cast was not on the set during the time of the explosions, but Gilbert recalled seeing the demolished town for the first time.
'Gutting. It was just painful. Knowing that we were going to walk down from basecamp that it was not going to be there. But not knowing exactly what we were going to see.'
'I imagine it's not nearly - and I'm going to underline "nearly" eight times - what it's like when people go home after a natural disaster, as we've seen in Los Angeles and Wilmington and so many other places,' she added.
The star continued, 'To see these buildings - they were not just façades, they were buildings - where we'd gone to school, where we'd communed, where we gathered and spent such an intense 10 years of all of our lives just flattened.'
'I can understand on a very, tiny scale what it feels like to lose your home to something like that.'
Melissa played Laura Ingalls while Landon portrayed her father Charles Ingalls on the beloved NBC series. Michael passed away at the age of 54 in 1991 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Other cast members included Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls), Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls), twins Lindsay Sidney Greenbush (Carrie Ingalls), Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder), Alison Arngrim (Nellie Olsen) and Victor French (Isaiah Edwards).
The first episode aired in 1974 and the ninth season came to an end in 1982. Three TV movies then premiered, including Little House: Look Back Yesterday, Little House: Bless All The Dear Children and Little House: The Last Farewell.
The cast was not on the set during the time of the explosions, but Gilbert recalled seeing the demolished town for the first time
Last month in January, Netflix announced that a 'fresh adaptation' of the classic books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder was in the works.
The VP drama series for Netflix, Jinny Howe, said in a statement: 'Little House On The Prairie has captured the hearts and imaginations of so many fans around the world, and we're excited to share its enduring themes of hope and optimism with a fresh take on this iconic story.'
In reference to the showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine, the statement continued, 'Rebecca's vision threads the needle with an emotional depth that will delight both new and existing fans of this beloved classic.'
Netflix's description of the upcoming project, per The Hollywood Reporter, is 'part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West.'
It will offer a 'kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier.'
However, social media users soon jumped to X to share their thoughts on the announcement - with some expressing worry that the show could be too 'woke.'
One penned, 'Please don't ruin another treasured piece of literature and Americana,' while another wrote, 'Reimagining? No thank you.'
'Why does it have to be "reimagined"? You're going to screw this up,' a fan typed out, and one added, 'If this is made from a woke leftist perspective the family should sue Netflix.'
Last month in January, Netflix announced that a 'fresh adaptation' of the classic books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder was in the works
Megyn Kelly also took to X and penned, 'If you wokeify Little House on the Prairie I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project'
Megyn Kelly also took to X and penned, 'If you wokeify Little House on the Prairie I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project.'
However, Melissa Gilbert offered her own response to Kelly and recently shared on Instagram: 'Apparently Megyn tweeted (I'm not on that platform) asking that Netflix not "woke-ify" their Little House remake.'
'Umm…watch the original again. TV doesn't get too much more "woke" than we did,' she added.
'We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other "woke" topic you can think of. Thank you very much.'
In regards to the upcoming series, it appears that original cast members will not be involved in the Netflix adaptation.
However, Melissa Gilbert offered her own response to Kelly and recently shared on Instagram: 'Apparently Megyn tweeted (I'm not on that platform) asking that Netflix not "woke-ify" their Little House remake'; seen in 2023 in Monte-Carlo
'Umm…watch the original again. TV doesn't get too much more "woke" than we did,' she added
Last month, actress Alison Arngrim - who portrayed Nellie Oleson - discussed the topic during an interview with ReMIND.
'None of us, as far as I know, our gang, are in at this point,' she shared, and then humorously added, 'I have been joking for years that I’m finally old enough to play Mrs. Oleson, so call me!'
Arngrim later explained, 'It' not really like a reboot, they're not going back to Walnut Grove...This [show] is part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder multiverse.'
'So concerns that they're going to run amok away from the books and make it into something weird - not happening.'
