Little House on the Prairie (2026 remake) review: This was unnecessary

If you are in your 40's you almost certainly saw "Little House" on TBS in the 80's. It was a very popular show and was extremely well-produced especially when you consider the technical limitations that existed at the time. It was something that everyone knew and lives on as a rather historically important show. It was very family-friendly and even had some religious overtones to it and nobody had an issue with that because we weren't a bunch of whiny bitched back in those times.

This remake was something the really surprised me because I don't think really anyone was asking for this to happen. The original series is sort of sacrosanct and for people that loved the original, this is almost certainly going to irk you a bit. I know it did for me because I feared when I first started watching it that it was going to be remade for the "modern audience" and since Netflix was involved they were almost certainly going to put some sort of modern social justice spin on it. Well, it only took them 1 episode to establish that this is exactly what is going to happen.

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This isn't to say that the show is bad. It isn't bad. It's just that some things are better left alone and anyone that really enjoyed the original is going to struggle with this one because it doesn't add anything (thus far) to the story but rather, takes things away and also puts some modern PC spin on it even though the tales told take place in the 1860's.

One thing is going to be noticeable right away... in the first 10 minutes of the show actually, when the Ingalls are on their way to their new home in Kansas and they encounter a doctor on the road who helps them and he is a black man.

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Now before anyone decides to run off and spout something racist, you need to know that there actually is a black doctor in the books that the original and this series are based on and the character is based on a real-life person that really did live in Kansas around the time that these stories are taking place.

Did they take a ton of liberties in expanding Dr. Tann's role, reputation, importance, and level of respect and trust in the community of Independence, Kansas? Well of course they did. This is Netflix after all.

The modern spin aspect of the story does take a very large swing away from both history and the books in that the Native American population is presented in this modern retelling in a very different way than history books indicate as well as both the books and the original series. I don't need to get into that too much because I don't want my personal perspectives on this to "taint the waters" too much here. But you will notice it when you watch the show. The Netflix version of the story is trying to convince the audience of something, not really to tell the story like the books. Honestly though, this is Netflix and if they were to do anything other than this I would be genuinely surprised.

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How anything really operated in the late 19th century is a matter of perspective. Little House is based on the real-life experiences of a real person, Laura Ingalls Wilder but by her own admissions many of her tales are just based on her life experiences and are not meant to be a precise retelling of what actually happened. IE: Much or most of it is a work of total fiction.

So I suppose you just need to run with it and try to have some fun with this series. One thing that is a little bit annoying to me is the near complete omission of religion in the remake and I say this as someone that is not at all religious. If you saw the original you would know that Christianity was a massive part of the Ingalls' life as well as it was for everyone else at that time in that part of the world. Netflix might get around to allowing some of it at some point in the series because it is rather unavoidable, but I would be willing to bet that they are going to steer clear of it as much as possible.

Instead, the remake is very focused on the Native American tribe almost as much as they are on the Ingalls. To me this seems out of place but they were a regularly occurring topic in the original series as well. This may rub some people the wrong way and I found it a bit strange as well but since I have no intention of watching all of this series anyway, I can just safely say that this series just isn't for me, and that is fine.

For me, and for many people with fond memories of the original this is going to be something that we are a lot more sensitive about than people who never saw the original and well, I think that it can still be a good show it just isn't going to hold me when I have so many other options available to me already.

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They changed a lot of things such as there being significantly more diversity, and the focus shifting towards the Native population is strange, but perhaps was intentional on the part of the producers because honestly, no matter what they did it was going to be heavily scrutinized because of the nostalgia and downright love that people have for the original show which by the way is one of the most popular streaming shows that Peacock has available on its subscription service at the moment.

I probably will not continue to watch it because I am simply irritated that they remade it at all. The original was already perfect. I had the same attitude towards a lot of remakes such as Conan the Barbarian whose remake I only recently finally watched and of course hated it. That doesn't mean that other people who are unfamiliar with the original for this, that, or anything else can't be pleased with the new stuff.

I'll say it again though, if you were too young or not yet alive when the original series aired, then this could actually be a good choice for you.

Should I watch it?

I think I have spelled it out about as well as I can already but I'll say it again: This is a good show and you definitely should see it, at least an episode or two. If you were a fan of the original I think is is very unlikely that you wont take issue with some of what takes place but honestly, that is unavoidable when someone remakes something so beloved. Just imagine how impossible it would be for someone to remake E.T. and please everyone, for example. Well this is just like that.

I think you should give this one a whirl and find out what you think of it for yourself. It isn't "woke" like some are saying on various platforms but hell, I don't really even know what that word means anymore.

_{The only legal way to watch this show at the moment is with a Netflix account}