Rebecca Sonnenshine’s “Little House” is not a reboot of the classic series, but casting the roles made indelible by Gilbert and Landon was of peak importance.

Creator of Netflix’s *Little House on the Prairie *details casting hunt to fill Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon’s shoes

Rebecca Sonnenshine’s “Little House” is not a reboot of the classic series, but casting the roles made indelible by Gilbert and Landon was of peak importance.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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July 9, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET

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Luke Bracey and Alice Halsey on 2026’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’; Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon on ‘Little House on the Prairie’ (1974-1983). Credit:

Eric Zachanowich/Netflix; NBCUniversal via Getty

- Rebecca Sonnenshine, the creator of Netflix’s new *Little House on the Prairie *series, tells EW about the process of casting Laura and Charles “Pa” Ingalls.

- Laura was memorably played by Melissa Gilbert, and Pa by Michael Landon on the classic TV series, though the new series isn’t a reboot, but an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.

- Sonnenshine jokes that the primary question pondered during casting was, “Can you see this person building a log cabin with their hands?”

It’s time for a new generation to lace up their boots and head out West.

Four decades after the first series adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic *Little House on the Prairie** *books went up in flames, Netflix is introducing a whole new audience to the pioneer icon’s tales of family and fellowship.

So much goes into getting any TV show right, from casting, to locations, to costumes, to scripts and soundtrack. But even more goes into adapting a series of coming-of-age novels beloved for over a century that spawned a new legion of loyal fans when it was first brought to the small screen in 1974.

The original *Little House on the Prairie *was a TV staple across its 10-year run on NBC, making stars of its entire core ensemble. But Michael Landon, who led the pack as the stalwart patriarch Charles “Pa” Ingalls, and Melissa Gilbert, who appeared as the plucky author-heroine Laura, stood above the rest, becoming figureheads of the expanded *Little House *universe for decades to come. As such, Rebecca Sonnenshine, who helms the streamer’s new take on *Little House on the Prairie*, knew she had big shoes to fill. The screenwriter behind *The Housemaid *and producer on series like *The Vampire Diaries *and *The Boys *took * *inside that challenging casting process ahead of Thursday’s premiere of the new series.

Matthew Labyorteaux, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Dean Butler, Melissa Sue Anderson, Linwood Boomer, Karen Grassle, and Lindsay/Sidney Greenbush on ‘Little House on the Prairie’.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Sonnenshine’s *Little House on the Prairie* bears no relation to the first series adaptation. It is a fresh look at the books that Ingalls Wilder published about her life on the open frontier of the American Midwest between 1872 and 1894. Though the figures Gilbert and Landon cut still loom large, the fact that Sonnenshine was unburdened from the obligations of a strict reboot allowed her to look in unusual places for her Laura and Pa.

“Well, you know, Luke is Australian,” she laughs. *Hacksaw Ridge *and *Elvis *star Luke Bracey, who hails from Sydney, was ultimately cast as Pa. “He was shooting a show when we were doing auditions, so it was a Zoom.” Still, Sonnenshine was able to tell instantly how Bracey “really embodies” the new vision for the character.

Alice Halsey and Luke Bracey on ‘Little House on the Prairie’.

Eric Zachanowich/Netflix

“He’s incredibly rugged. He feels like, ‘Oh, I can see him building a house.’ That was one of the criteria — can you see this person building a log cabin with their hands? And I thought, ‘Yes, for sure,’” she jokes. Bracey’s screen presence is “physical. He’s a surfer, and he just feels of that time somehow.”

The Aussie managed to bring the masculine bravado that Landon famously had in spades, but Sonnenshine also says “there was no ego” to Bracey’s audition. “He just really wanted to capture the spirit of this character who, as you see in this series, doesn’t believe in violence.”

She continues, “I feel like the show in some ways is a coming-of-age story for each character, even the adults. Which is because they’ve kind of left everything they knew behind, and they’ve taken this leap into the great unknown. Luke seemed to be this actor who could truly embody that sense of curiosity and vulnerability... the audience may have ideas of who Pa is, but I think that Luke is so open, his performance is so inviting, that it really brings you along for this ride of discovery.”

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The Ingalls girls, Laura and Mary (unlike the original series, the new *Little House *does not introduce baby Carrie Ingalls from the jump), proved harder to cast.

“It’s a tough thing” casting young adults and children who’ve had less time to establish themselves on screen. But Sonnenshine “knew as soon as I saw” 11-year-old Alice Halsey that she had found her Laura.

Halsey is “really an extraordinary actress. She feels things very deeply, and she really just got this character who has this curiosity for the world. Alice is a very curious person. It’s fun to have kids around because they’re not jaded at all. Everything is exciting to them and every day is a new adventure and you just sort of sense that with this young actress,” Sonnenshine explains. “She felt so ready to explore the world and take on this character who is kind, and forthright, and empathetic, and honest, because she’s our window into this world.”

Laura plays the most critical role in the series as both its protagonist and narrator. It’s through Laura’s eyes that we see the American frontier and all its hardscrabble settlers. With that kind of responsibility, the character “needs someone who has that ability to draw an audience in, and for us to feel joy and sadness and happiness and love. It’s this incredible exploration of the world through the actress. And Alice seemed to have all of that from the moment I saw her.”

Alice Halsey and Luke Bracey shoot an episode of Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’.

Landon died just seven years after the original *Little House on the Prairie *aired its finale. But Gilbert still carries the flame, and she’s fully on board for Sonnenshine’s new take on the material.

“I think there’s room in the *Little House* universe for all different kinds of stories to be told — just like there was always room in the *Little Women* universe to keep retelling that story,” the actress told * *last February. “These are classic stories, and no one’s done it where they hewed to the books completely. [The original] was Michael Landon’s interpretation, and now it’s time for someone else’s interpretation. And I think there’s plenty of room for that. And I think there’s a lot of other stories to mine beyond that. So I think this opens the door in a lot of ways for all kinds of* Little House on the Prairie* projects.”

*Little House on the Prairie *is currently streaming on Netflix.

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