Last week, we reported that Netflix had announced it would reboot Little House On The Prairie over forty years after the beloved original show went off the air.
Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls Wilder in the original series that ran from 1974 until 1983, has now finally broken her silence about the reboot. Unfortunately for Netflix, however, Gilbert is revealing why Little House On The Prairie was never meant to come back.
Gilbert Sounds Off
Thursday marked the 41st anniversary of the final episode of Little House On The Prairie. This last episode was actually a television movie titled Little House: The Last Farewell.
To mark this anniversary, Gilbert is opening up to Entertainment Weekly about why her Little House on the Prairie co-star Michael Landon, who died in 1991 at the age of 54, decided to blow up the fictional town of Walnut Grove. Indeed, the demolishing of the town was written into the plot of the TV movie as the villagers responding to a tycoon trying 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,” Gilbert explained. “We just weren’t on the fall schedule after not just 10 years of Little House, but years of Bonanza.”
Related: ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Scores Netflix Reboot Over 40 Years After Original Show Ended
Landon Felt Betrayed
Landon had starred on Bonanza on NBC from 1959 until 1973. He then immediately starred on Little House On The Prairie until 1983. This marked 24 consecutive years on the network for him.
“It was just such a disrespectful thing to do to him,” Gilbert lamented. “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.”
“It was so heartbreaking,” she confessed. “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.”
Gilbert went on to say that Landon’s main fear was what would potentially happen to the show’s vacant set. In the end, it’s clear that this show was deeply personal for Landon, Gilbert, and the rest of the original cast. That’s why they never wanted it to be brought back.
“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],” Gilbert stated. “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.”
Little House On The Prairie Reboot
This comes one month after Netflix announced that it will be rebooting Little House On The Prairie.
“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,” said Netflix’s Vice President of Drama Jinny Howe.
Howe then referenced the reboot’s showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine.
“Rebecca’s vision threads the needle with an emotional depth that will delight both new and existing fans of this beloved classic,” Howe concluded.
Sadly, Alison Arngrim, who played the villainous Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie, has revealed that none of the original cast-members have been asked to take part in the reboot.
“None of us, as far as I know, our gang, are in at this point,” Arngrim, 63, told ReMIND earlier this week.
Full Story: ‘Little House On The Prairie’ Star Confirms No Original Cast Members Will Return for Reboot
Netflix has yet to reveal when the Little House on the Prairie reboot will drop. Here’s hoping that they don’t ruin this beloved television series!
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