This Little House Star Agrees The Reboot Does One Thing Better Than The '70s Original

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Laura Ingalls Wilder couldn't have known that the stories she told of growing up on the American frontier and of her family's trials and triumphs would someday become a hit TV show. But that's exactly what happened. The first of her "Little House" books, "Little House in the Big Woods," a fictionalized version of Wilder's real life, came out in 1932. The TV show adaptation, "Little House on the Prairie," debuted in 1974. It starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls; a role that she began playing at the age of 9 and held until the show went off the air in 1983. Laura's love interest was Almanzo Wilder, played by Dean Butler. Now that there's a new "Little House" adaptation streaming on Netflix, Butler has thoughts. 

Most notably, he really likes the music that the Ingalls family gets to perform together. In an Instagram reel, the actor shared, "Something that I think is really wonderful about this is the family singing that is going on. Writers have rolled in songs that Pa played on his fiddle and the family is singing along, and they are doing it beautifully. And this is really the spirit of Laura's book." The "Little House on the Prairie" reboot is reportedly going to follow the events of the original books more closely than the 1970s version did, so it makes sense.

Even with the reimagining of "Little House on the Prairie" coming out on Netflix, there are still plenty of diehard fans of the 1970s version. Dean Butler reckons there's a reason that the original show still resonates: It all comes down to the heart of the stories. "Walnut Grove, either in the books or in the series, is its own little world that people step into to discover a kind of a decency and humanity that doesn't go away," the actor explained to Parade in December 2025. Only time will tell if the Netflix reboot earns the same following. Butler isn't the only celebrity fan, though. Melissa Gilbert visited the set of Netflix's "Little House on the Prairie" and she gave it her "stamp of approval," as did Alison Arngrim, who played the villainous Nellie Oleson. 

While it's unclear whether Gilbert will be making an appearance in Season 2, which has already been greenlit, you should keep an eye out for Alison Arngrim; she makes a surprise cameo as a cheeky nod to the original "Little House" in the second episode of the reboot. And, if you want to hear more from both her and Butler, they co-host the "Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Podcast," where the duo offers some insights into what it was really like working on the beloved show. Likewise, Butler's memoir "Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond" came out in 2024.