There has always been politics associated with the books but the series was mostly associated with family storylines and resilience rather than libertarian politics. However, that who ended up editing the books and having the rights after. It can be tough with books of the time because today's attitude can find things like settlers repugnant. Others might think is a blueprint for tradwifes and lots of kids and agrarian spendour. Navigating all this will likely be walking on eggshells. Even Laura Ingalls getting married at 18 to a 28 year old will be a source of discussion of the series follows the history and the books.
The New York Times actually got a tour of the studio set and one of their first questions was: "Why were we in Winnipeg? Was there no affordable prairie anywhere in America?" The reaction of the producer standing outside the log cabin on a soundstage in Winnipeg was to sigh.
The question is not really answered. But no, there is not another place on planet earth that has a better tax credit for film and TV than Winnipeg. At 65%, it dwarfs California's 35 to 45% tax credit. The original Little House on the Prairie was filmed in Simi Valley, north of Los Angeles. The region has filled in with housing although the outdoor location is still visible although in 2003 much burned down in wildfires. Studio work was done at Paramount and then later at MGM Studios. Building an entire town on a studio was quite a feat but even then car sound and airplanes had to filtered out.
Could it have been filmed in California? Sure. But the NBC series was filmed on the biggest studio soundstage in the city and Simi Valley for 22 episodes a season. Netflix is doing an 8 episode season. Even with the tax credit, that is a lot of bucks. HBO's The Pitt gets tax credits for a 15 episode season with very minor second location work in Pittsburgh. Even with that money, the pay for the actors follows a very set of payscales to make for the largest ensemble cast you can have inside one large set. The days of Friends and Seinfeld actors getting a million per episode each over 22 episodes are gone. And all of that being paid because of commercial sponsors? Impossible.
So New York Times, this is why in Winnipeg: The tax credit, the Canadian dollar, flight connections, locations, soundstages, crews and additional actors have made Manitoba prime filming territory. As far as the value to Manitoba goes, the conclusion has been that that a lot of the tax credit earned is plowed right back into production rather pocketed by big companies in LA. At least 2000 people are full-time in the film industry in the province. The estimates are that about another 2000 are indirectly employed full time. It is enough to satisfy all the political parties in Manitoba over a 25 year period.
This isn't out first involvement with Netflix in Manitoba and it won't be our last. The second season of Little House is being filmed just as the first season is released July 9, 2026. The publicity machine has been huge. The New York Times had the most inside story. The Los Angeles Times had the creative head writer and producer give their take. The CBC focused on the Canadian performers and the indigenous angle.
I have not seen the new series myself. I watched the original Little House in the Prairie from time to time but the Wednesday broadcast night and then for the majority Mondays meant I was not home those days. It was hockey practice on those winter nights and in summer repeats soccer or Camp Manitou or family holidays. The year the series ended was when our family got a VCR when I was finishing high school. The final year of the show, the ratings had dropped probably because the audience was changing as they aged. Many rediscovered the show in syndication and now in streaming. Oddly enough, I've seen the musical two times in Minnesota with Melissa Gilbert as Ma with a former partner. It was a lot of fun.
The commentary of the New York Times was that the show was like slow cinema in showing the beauty of the terrain. The producers have tried to replicate Terrance Malick's 1978 movie Days if Heaven. The New York Times approves. The directors, many of who are indigenous and all women, Try to show 1869 Kansas. This requires that Manitoba around Cook's Creek show all it's beauty. Perhaps someone who knows the filming locations will want to arrange tours because that is the type of worldwide attention such a series can bring. The only time I ever did that was for Twin Peaks when I went Washington to see filming locations.
The very talented costumers in Manitoba show their skills in the bonnets and dresses and trousers. A lot of wool was used. The studio log happen is likely to make many in the audience swoon. The Kansas storyline will follow the book in that we will see indigenous and black interactions. This is post Civil War. It is exactly what is was like at the time. The populations were moving westward.
The original Little House on the Prairie is very influential but there is as much Anne of Green Gable, Road to Avonlea and Netflix's own Anne With an E in this according to the CBC. This is not unexpected. A lot of American shows end up here and the Canadian aspect creeps in. In the end, a lot of the prairie stories have a similar feel. At that time of the century people and trade crossed the border very freely.
Most of the reviews have been positive so far. A few like Slate called it "Woke-ified" and said it would offend the right. Not sure how well that will go. The right tried to go after the kindness of Dolly Parton and it didn't go well. However, the Ingalls family move to territory where property rights were so uncertain meant they were squatting. This would not be something that the original series would really cover. In the end, even some critics were calling crowd pleasing.
I suspect a lot of families will be watching the whole series.
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