Critics Are Calling Netflix's Little House On The Prairie A Cosy 'Must-Watch'

Little House On The Prairie is an American institution, and it’s now back in Netflix’s cosy new adaptation.

Based on author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s semi-autobiographical accounts of growing up on the American frontier in the 1870s and 1880s, the streamer’s new eight-part series follows a beloved book and the original TV show, which ran in the late 1970s and early 80s. 

So, can this new take on the source material live up to its predecessors?

This new adaptation, which follows the Ingalls family as they leave Wisconsin to start a new life on the frontier in Kansas, modernises the source material for a contemporary audience.

Critics have mostly praised these updates, which fix some of the more problematic depictions of women, minorities and Native Americans.

While plenty of reviews have praised the show’s performances, production value and script, it’s fair to say that the wholesome and twee nature of Little House Of The Prairie isn’t for everyone. 

Here’s what critics are saying about the 2026 reimagining Little House Of The Prairie so far…

The Hollywood Reporter

“Over eight episodes, most running under 50 minutes but never dull even in the longer instalments, Little House On The Prairie captures a tumultuous year in the life of the Ingalls family, a year with danger, romance, heroism and the learning of many important lessons. 

“I don’t gravitate toward ‘wholesome’ or ‘earnest’ as attributes in most of my favourite shows, but I bought into Little House On The Prairie and I’m relieved that Netflix has already renewed it for a second season.”

Radio Times (4/5)

“An undeniably heartfelt family drama that, for all its coming-of-age anxieties and sweeping vistas, also dares to ask some difficult questions about the true price of progress.”

Variety

“Overall, for those who loved the original show and books, and for viewers being introduced to the Ingalls for the first time, Little House illustrates the beauty of community, the horrors of encroachment and displacement, and the cost of being an American.”

Collider (9/10)

“A must-watch Western masterpiece [...] throughout the course of the series, the town of Independence grows and changes, reflecting the slow growth of the community across a span of seasons, and that change is visible in the set pieces and props, both close to the camera and in the deep background. All of these small details help to build a fully realised world that feels tactile and familiar, in the same way that the book series inspired a generation of children to pretend they were a member of the Ingalls family travelling across the American frontier.”

The Guardian (3/5)

“It is exactly the revamp you would expect. The new LHOTP is a precision-tooled and well-oiled machine. All children’s and most adult problems are solvable within a one-to-three episode arc. 

“Kansas may contain malaria, medicine-hoarders and mentions of how hard the war was but ultimately the vibe is the one we recognise: faith, hope and the American way will carry us cosily through.”

Financial Times (3/5)

“There is comfort to be found, too, in the show’s familiar, episodic structure, which plays out in a knowingly soapy style. Over eight episodes, the Ingalls are together, something bad happens to them or their newfound community, and then they sort it out. Job done.”

Tech Radar (3/5)

“This is also the closest Netflix has come to straying into Hallmark territory in its original content. What I mean by this is that the drama is often so twee that you’d expect someone to randomly burst into song like it’s a production of Oklahoma! It can be grating, but if you look past the form, the content is meaningful.”

The Herald (3/5)

“Is there such a thing as enjoyable trauma? If so, Little House On The Prairie perfected it.”

The Telegraph

“Anyone old enough to remember the 1970s series will regard it with misty-eyed nostalgia. Anyone young enough to be in the market for children’s programmes will prefer the streamer’s more garish options to a wholesome story of pioneer life in pretty bonnets. It’s the reboot that nobody needed.

AV Club

“The first season of Netflix’s Little House On The Prairie is less of a revival than it is a well-intentioned yet stiff CliffsNotes version.

“It’s fine enough, finding a couple of solid episodes when it slows down to delve into its characters and the way that the remote community they find themselves in is growing.”

Time

“Although it’s been updated for the streaming era with a serialised plot and revisionist overtones, this Little House suffers from the same cloying excesses as its predecessor. More childlike mischief might’ve helped.

“Yet instead of contorting the Ingallses into the people we wish they’d been, maybe it’s simply time we acknowledge that theirs may not be the enduring story we once imagined it to be.”

Roger Ebert

“Netflix’s Little House On The Prairie is the kind of remake that’s essentially designed in a lab to appeal to the broadest possible swath of viewers. That’s not necessarily a criticism – the experience of watching the show is perfectly enjoyable. But it’s difficult not to wonder what a version of this show that wasn’t quite so aggressive…adequate might have been like.”

Little House On The Prairie is now streaming on Netflix.