I know, I know… I’m being greedy when it comes to Little House on the Prairie. Netflix only dropped the first season on July 9, with its second season being renewed months before we even saw it.
Frankly, it’s all good news for anybody who loves the Ingalls family. Logic tells us that season 2 will be based on the next book in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original series, On the Banks of Plum Creek.
Having left their little house on the Kansas prairie (which is exactly what we saw at the end of season 1), the Ingalls family travels by wagon to Minnesota, settling on the banks of Plum Creek.
The book covers five years of Wilder’s childhood, so we could see the Ingalls stay there for a while should the Netflix series continue to be renewed.
If I were a betting woman, I’d say that Little House on the Prairie season 2 could be exceeded by at least 3 more seasons, if the streamer invests in the IP in the same way as it does with Virgin River. At the time of writing, no further seasons have been commissioned.
Talking to star Alice Halsey, who plays Laura, this situation would be a “dream come true,” — and there’s good reason to be optimistic.
Little House on the Prairie season 3 would likely be based on By the Shores of Silver Lake
“I love playing Laura, and I would love to do it for a whole lot longer,” Halsey tells me. “I would just adore the prospect of being able to be Laura for years to come, to be able to be that kind of person that Melissa Gilbert was to so many people. I think that’s really empowering.
“I just hope that people will love season 2 as much as they seem to like season 1. Season 2 is going to be even better. If we have a season 3 or season 4, that would just be a dream come true.”
As I’ve said, I think Halsey is right, and Little House on the Prairie will likely be renewed for both… but let’s dig into why. For starters, there’s a wealth of source material to work with courtesy of the real-life Ingalls.
Here’s the full Little House series list:
- Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
- Farmer Boy (1933)
- Little House on the Prairie (1935)
- On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
- The Long Winter (1940)
- Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
- These Happy Golden Years (1943)
- The First Four Years (1971)
We skipped past the first two books by the time season 1 even began, with season 2 confirmed to adapt On the Banks of Plum Creek. That leaves another five novels that are ripe for adaptation, meaning a minimum of five further future seasons in the pipeline.
Why “minimum?” Well, this largely depends on how Netflix chooses to adapt future books. The Ingalls didn’t live in the Kansas prairie for too long, but we know that they lived by Plum Creek for a good few years. This could either be crammed into one season, or spread out over a few.
Of course, Netflix doesn’t have to use all of Wilder’s remaining books, either. As it’s already skipped past the first two (understandably to start at the most well-known point), the streamer can pick and choose what it wants to adapt.
In its best-case scenario, we could be looking at an original IP that rivals Virgin River, which is currently the longest-running original series in Netflix’s roster. Little House on the Prairie must be similarly cost-effective for Netflix to film, with both shows passing off Canada as various US locations.
As it stands, it’s all to play for… but don’t be surprised if more announcements come out sooner rather than later.
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