Netflix's new "Little House on the Prairie" reboot is facing criticism that it has been overhauled with modern political sensibilities, a charge that showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine disputes, asserting that such fears are unfounded.
The eight-episode series premiered on Thursday and has received a 75% critic score, but a lower 58% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Accusations of the show being "woke" circulated prior to its release, prompting Sonnenshine to tell Variety that viewers are "worried for no reason."
"I’m not even sure what ‘woke’ means to people anymore, to be honest," Sonnenshine said. "I know what I think it means, which is the definition of it being aware and alert to social injustice and prejudice, in particular racial prejudice. So, when people say, ‘I hope it’s not woke,’ I think, ‘Really? Oh, that’s interesting.’ But I don’t think people are using it in that manner."
She suggested that "woke" has become a broad term for elements that might be unfamiliar or concerning to viewers, stating, "I think it’s just become a catch-all word for things that I don’t quite understand. If I had to sum it up, what people are afraid of is that something from their childhood will be portrayed in a way that scares them."
The reboot is based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books and follows the Ingalls family as they establish a homestead in 1800s Kansas, similar to the original television series that aired in the 1970s.
Some critics have noted a departure from the perceived ruggedness of the original premise. A Slate television critic observed that the reboot "did indeed woke-ify" the show, citing the inclusion of "an Osage couple, a Black doctor and Black storekeeper, and a French Canadian woman who wears trousers and practices free love" as new close friends of the family.
Sonnenshine, however, maintains that the show intends to "exploring some interesting issues." She told Variety that "conservative people are really interested in Native American stories, honestly. When people watch the show, it’s like, ‘We want to know more about the [mixed-race Osage family] Mitchells,’ and that’s kind of across the board."
She expressed optimism that audiences will connect with the updated narrative, adding, "I think that they’ll really like it. I think people just are afraid of whatever they’re afraid of, and that’s OK. But I honestly think that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and it’s a story that will really resonate with everybody."
Concerns from conservative commentators about the reboot's reimagining of the story were also addressed by Melissa Gilbert, who starred as Laura Ingalls in the original series. Gilbert responded on Threads that the original show itself tackled significant social issues, stating, "Ummm…watch the original again. TV doesn’t get too much more ‘woke’ than we did. We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other ‘woke’ topic you can think of. Thank you very much."