Melissa Gilbert in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2023.Photo:Pascal Le Segretain/GettyLittle House on the Prairiecontinues to entertain viewers 50 years after its premiere, and there’s a very good reason for that, according to its starMelissa Gilbert.The actress, 59, shared her theory with PEOPLE at theLittle House on the Prairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festivallast weekend, pointing to the show’s universal themes.“It’s a reflection of all the things that people crave in life: family, community, love, faith, and hope,” she says. “It’s all the good juicy things that make human beings so wonderful and different from animals. I mean, that connection. AndLittle Houseis a reminder of that.”Melissa Gilbert during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the show found new viewers, offering them a “reminder of where we used to be," says Gilbert. Fans quoted relevant episodes like “Plague” fromLittle House on the Prairie’sfirst season and “Quarantine” from season 3, which revolved around outbreaks in the town of Walnut Grove.“At that time, I would look at numbers going up and reading things on social media and think, ‘Okay, well okay,’ and then it just started to blow up,” Gilbert recalls. “Then the Black Lives Matter movement happened, and then they’re talking about episodes like ‘The Wisdom of Solomon.’ All of a sudden, people are realizing that there’s aLittle House on the Prairie[episode] for everything we’re going through.”“It wasn’t just that cozy family show,” she continues. “We dealt with the issues of 1974, the recession, that’s coming home from Vietnam, chauvinism, equal rights for women, equal rights for people of color, antisemitism. We dealt with all of that, but we didn’t do it in an exploitive way.”Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyBased on author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series of books about growing up in the Midwest during the late 19thcentury,Little House on the Prairieaired for nine seasons from 1974 to 1983, becoming a part of the cultural zeitgeist and catapulting Gilbert, who was 9-years-old when the series debuted, to fame.The feel-good show was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards during its run and won four, including outstanding cinematography for a series and outstanding music composition for a series in 1979.Many castmembers, including Gilbert,Alison ArngrimandDean Butler, attended theLittle House on thePrairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival and reminisced about their time on the show.“We were telling stories at the time, which sadly are still our stories,” Gilbert says. “We’re still fighting for so many things in this country, and I thinkLittle Houseis sort of a bastion of what can be.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Allnineseasons ofLittle House on the Prairiecan be streamed on Prime Video and Peacock.
Melissa Gilbert in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2023.Photo:Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Little House on the Prairiecontinues to entertain viewers 50 years after its premiere, and there’s a very good reason for that, according to its starMelissa Gilbert.The actress, 59, shared her theory with PEOPLE at theLittle House on the Prairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festivallast weekend, pointing to the show’s universal themes.“It’s a reflection of all the things that people crave in life: family, community, love, faith, and hope,” she says. “It’s all the good juicy things that make human beings so wonderful and different from animals. I mean, that connection. AndLittle Houseis a reminder of that.”Melissa Gilbert during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the show found new viewers, offering them a “reminder of where we used to be," says Gilbert. Fans quoted relevant episodes like “Plague” fromLittle House on the Prairie’sfirst season and “Quarantine” from season 3, which revolved around outbreaks in the town of Walnut Grove.“At that time, I would look at numbers going up and reading things on social media and think, ‘Okay, well okay,’ and then it just started to blow up,” Gilbert recalls. “Then the Black Lives Matter movement happened, and then they’re talking about episodes like ‘The Wisdom of Solomon.’ All of a sudden, people are realizing that there’s aLittle House on the Prairie[episode] for everything we’re going through.”“It wasn’t just that cozy family show,” she continues. “We dealt with the issues of 1974, the recession, that’s coming home from Vietnam, chauvinism, equal rights for women, equal rights for people of color, antisemitism. We dealt with all of that, but we didn’t do it in an exploitive way.”Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via GettyBased on author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series of books about growing up in the Midwest during the late 19thcentury,Little House on the Prairieaired for nine seasons from 1974 to 1983, becoming a part of the cultural zeitgeist and catapulting Gilbert, who was 9-years-old when the series debuted, to fame.The feel-good show was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards during its run and won four, including outstanding cinematography for a series and outstanding music composition for a series in 1979.Many castmembers, including Gilbert,Alison ArngrimandDean Butler, attended theLittle House on thePrairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival and reminisced about their time on the show.“We were telling stories at the time, which sadly are still our stories,” Gilbert says. “We’re still fighting for so many things in this country, and I thinkLittle Houseis sort of a bastion of what can be.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Allnineseasons ofLittle House on the Prairiecan be streamed on Prime Video and Peacock.
Little House on the Prairiecontinues to entertain viewers 50 years after its premiere, and there’s a very good reason for that, according to its starMelissa Gilbert.
The actress, 59, shared her theory with PEOPLE at theLittle House on the Prairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festivallast weekend, pointing to the show’s universal themes.
“It’s a reflection of all the things that people crave in life: family, community, love, faith, and hope,” she says. “It’s all the good juicy things that make human beings so wonderful and different from animals. I mean, that connection. AndLittle Houseis a reminder of that.”
Melissa Gilbert during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the show found new viewers, offering them a “reminder of where we used to be," says Gilbert. Fans quoted relevant episodes like “Plague” fromLittle House on the Prairie’sfirst season and “Quarantine” from season 3, which revolved around outbreaks in the town of Walnut Grove.
“At that time, I would look at numbers going up and reading things on social media and think, ‘Okay, well okay,’ and then it just started to blow up,” Gilbert recalls. “Then the Black Lives Matter movement happened, and then they’re talking about episodes like ‘The Wisdom of Solomon.’ All of a sudden, people are realizing that there’s aLittle House on the Prairie[episode] for everything we’re going through.”
“It wasn’t just that cozy family show,” she continues. “We dealt with the issues of 1974, the recession, that’s coming home from Vietnam, chauvinism, equal rights for women, equal rights for people of color, antisemitism. We dealt with all of that, but we didn’t do it in an exploitive way.”
Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler during season 8 of ‘Little House on the Prairie.'.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Based on author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s series of books about growing up in the Midwest during the late 19thcentury,Little House on the Prairieaired for nine seasons from 1974 to 1983, becoming a part of the cultural zeitgeist and catapulting Gilbert, who was 9-years-old when the series debuted, to fame.
The feel-good show was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards during its run and won four, including outstanding cinematography for a series and outstanding music composition for a series in 1979.
Many castmembers, including Gilbert,Alison ArngrimandDean Butler, attended theLittle House on thePrairie50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival and reminisced about their time on the show.
“We were telling stories at the time, which sadly are still our stories,” Gilbert says. “We’re still fighting for so many things in this country, and I thinkLittle Houseis sort of a bastion of what can be.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Allnineseasons ofLittle House on the Prairiecan be streamed on Prime Video and Peacock.
source: people.com
