On July 9th, viewers were introduced (or reintroduced) to the Ingalls family, when Netflix's new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. This incarnation of the stories of family life in the wild frontier follows the popular Little House books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The cast was made available for interviews, and excerpts of those conversations are below.
Ma and Pa Ingalls
Crosby Fitzgerald and Luke Bracey play Caroline and Charles Ingalls. They want to portray a loving couple, not a fictionalized version of the parents of a growing family.
“They disagree,” Fitzgearld acknowledged. “They fight. But the love is always the strongest thing, and always the thing they come back to.”
And Bracey agreed, saying, “We really wanted their partnership to be one of mutual respect, and kinda like teammates through this."
Both actors stress that the partnership between Caroline and Charles is an important element in the family dynamic.
A New Life on the Frontier
The late 19th Century on the frontier was not easy, and settling the land with a growing family incorporated many hardships. While they encounter a difficult situation with the Osage Nation, as well as the others who are forging out new lives in this untamed wilderness, the family and community is central to everyone.
Said series creator Rebecca Sonnenshine, “When they come there, their minds are opened up, because they are getting to know people.
"And that is what this show is all about, which is being part of a community. Getting to know people that you haven't known before. And becoming part of a larger story of America. That's really what it's all about."
Sisterhood
Sisters Laura and Mary Ingalls are played by Alice Halsey and Skywalker Hughes, respectively. Off-screen, they instantly became good friends, and onscreen, they demonstrate how siblings can argue but remain close.
The relationship between the real life Laura and Mary was a close one. About the two Ingalls sisters, Sonnenshine said, “They’re each other's best friends and also each other's worst enemy. That's just what it means to have a sibling that you're close to.”
Sonnenshine stated, “I would say that it was Laura's most important relationship in her life.”
Hughes leaned on her relationships with her own siblings to bring out the caring and dutiful aspect of her character. Being the oldest of five, she knows the responsibility of having younger siblings who look to you for guidance.
Books, Original Series, and a Reimagined Series, Oh My
The original series ran from 1974-1983. Although the main characters were the same as those introduced in the books, the series itself was simply “inspired” by the books.
Producer and star Michael Landon and the team took plenty of liberties and vastly diverted from the stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder, adding new characters and family situation.
The new series follows the books that fans have been reading and rereading since the first book was published in 1932. Wilder’s stories of her family and life in the frontier captured the tone and life in the early part of last century. The intent of this series to bring those stories to life in a realistic way, following the books.
Although the first season just launched, the producers of the Netflix show are already hard at work on season two. How many years will this series run? That remains to be seen.
Although a third season has yet to be greenlit, there is a strong possibility it will come to fruition. The original idea is to bring out a new season yearly. There is a plethora of stories from the writer, so there are plenty of prospective episodes about Laura and her family.
A Final Word
Michael Landon’s Little House on the Prairie was a completely different -- and fictionalized -- take on the life of the Ingalls family. The books that initially inspired his series are edgier, and that edge is what viewers of the new series will immediately see.
This series is focused on the relationships and the hard life the family members experience, as they move from a place where they knew people to a new environment, meeting new people and learning about and experiencing life in this unknown land.
That was life back in the day. And that is what this series intends on portraying, just as Wilder wrote nearly a century ago.
NOTE TO PARENTS: While the series deals with the inherent dangers and difficulties of life in the American frontier in the years after the Civil War -- including alcoholism, PTSD, illness, injury, treatment of Native Americans, etc. -- it is presented in a careful manner. In general, the series is suitable for children Laura's age (8) and up and should spark family discussions.
Image: Netflix
Francine Brokaw is a longtime journalist whose articles have been published in national and international publications. She is accredited by the MPAA and is a long-standing member of the Television Critics Association.
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