Melissa Gilbert has spent the better part of 50 years connected to Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was ten years old when she first stepped onto that prairie set. So when Netflix released its own Little House on the Prairie series on July 9th — new cast, new vision, a second shot at a story that defined Gilbert’s childhood and career — the silence from her end was loud enough that fans noticed.
On July 17th, she finally broke her silence in a post on Substack. She gave two simple reasons for staying quiet.
First, she cannot be objective. “I am too deeply involved to weigh in without emotion,” she explained. Second, she does not think it is her place. “The audience’s reactions should speak for themselves. Critics and pundits be damned.”
Neither reason is hard to understand when you consider what the original series meant to her. The show ran from 1974 to 1983, nine seasons alongside Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, and Melissa Sue Anderson. Gilbert grew up on that set. The story was not just a job; it was where she spent her childhood and became who she is today.
The new Netflix version got off to a strong start. It pulled in 6.4 million views in its first four days, proving that people are still drawn to the story. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it a 79% score, while regular viewers were a bit cooler, giving it 68%.
Gilbert also had a message for fans who are complaining about historical mistakes in the new show. She reminded them that her original series wasn’t a documentary either, and that it took plenty of creative freedoms with the real Laura’s life.
She told fans that if they want strict historical facts, they should watch the PBS documentary Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page. But as far as TV shows go, she wrote, “I truly believe there is lots and lots of room for many stories to come out of the Little House universe for decades to come.”
What she wants from any adaptation is not fidelity to plot. It is fidelity to what she called “the core tenets” of Laura’s story — kindness, patience, tolerance, care for family and nature, love for God and for each other. Those, Gilbert said, are the things that matter.
She shared a similar thought back in February during an interview with People magazine. “I think everyone has a right to tell any story they want to in any way they want to,” she said. She also mentioned hoping the Netflix version would stick closer to the original books than her own series did.
This post was one of the first times Gilbert has spoken publicly after taking a break from social media. In January, her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, was arrested. He was later charged with four counts of criminal sexual contact involving a child. He was released on bail, and his trial is scheduled for May 2027.
None of that is mentioned in her Substack post about Little House. She did not connect the two. But it is the context in which she found her voice again — and chose to use it, carefully, on something she loves.
Meanwhile, Netflix has already renewed the new series for a second season.
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