Half a century after it first aired on NBC, the frontier family drama “Little House on the Prairie” is having an unlikely revival.
According to Wendi Lou Lee, who joined the cast as Baby Grace Ingalls during the show’s fifth season, more people are watching the series today than in the 1970s or 1980s, a phenomenon that reflects the show’s commitment to biblical principles and a slow, intentional pace of life.
“It’s just everything good,” the 48-year-old Christian actress and author told The Christian Post. “Family, community, faith. You can get everything from ‘Little House’: every lesson you might need to learn, or maybe one you don’t even know yet.”
Lee was only a toddler during her years on the Walnut Grove set, but that experience, she said, has defined her entire life.
“I started watching when I was 3 years old,” she said. “‘Little House’ has been with me my whole life. But what’s amazed me most is the last 20 years, traveling with the cast and becoming part of that family. I consider myself a fan just like the millions of fans all over the world.”
That global fandom, broadening with time, is the heartbeat of “Little House Homecoming,” a new feature-length documentary available beginning Nov. 26, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Hosted by Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson), the film follows members of the original cast as they traverse “Laura-land,” retracing the real places where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived, wrote and raised her family. The project began with a family road trip taken by executive producers Jonathan and Rebecca Parker and their daughter, Anna, whose devotion to Wilder sparked the idea for a full documentary.
“I get emotional just talking about it,” Lee said. “Anna gets to walk where Laura walked. She gets to live in these places for a short time and invite the whole world into that experience. The cinematography is breathtaking. There were so many moments that moved me to tears. I don’t know how I could have said no.”
Filming became something of a family reunion, she said, adding: “We all just loved it. We got to know Anna and her family; they were like part of the gang. When it came out, I thought: I can’t believe this happened. It’s so special.”
“Little House on the Prairie,” based on Wilder’s autobiographical books published between 1932 and 1943, first aired on March 30, 1974, on NBC. Directed by Michael Landon, the series also starred Landon as Pa, Karen Grassle as Ma and Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls.
The unexpected resurgence of the series, a frontier drama about crop failures, covered wagons, barn dances and butter churning, reflects a desire for “simpler times” in today’s “toxic,” success-driven culture, according to Lee.
“People want simple times even if they don’t know they want it,” she said. “Our world is so fast, so distracting. When you watch Little House, you slow down. It takes a long time for that wagon to go down the road. It takes a long time to churn butter. It gives people room to breathe.”
“When people go on vacation, they’re trying to escape that busy, toxic feeling,” she added. “But when they watch ‘Little House,’ they calm down. I think our current landscape is craving something, even if they don’t know what. If we can get people to slow down, take a breath, ‘Little House’ helps us do that.”
But the appeal isn’t only the pacing, but the biblical values it promotes, Lee emphasized.
“There’s a reason it’s resonated for decades,” Lee said, “You hear [Ma and Pa] quote Psalm 23 in its entirety on network television. You watch them treat their neighbors with dignity. You see stories of perseverance and grace. Somehow, this beautiful, godly influence made it on NBC. It’s incredible.”
“Every good thing is in ‘Little House,’” she added. “Encouragement in your walk with the Lord, how to treat other people, how to treat your neighbor. I don’t think it’s ever going away. Michael Landon said it would live on long after we were gone. I think he was right.”
The values promoted in “Little House,” resilience, faith and hope, have sustained Lee in difficult times. In 2015, she underwent brain surgery after doctors discovered a tumor, a procedure she said reshaped her life and purpose.
“My brain surgery was this awakening,” she said. “I felt God saying, ‘There’s something more for you to do.’ That’s when I started writing. That’s when I started speaking more openly with the cast and fans about my faith.”
Her first book, A Prairie Devotional,weaves biblical themes with lines from the television show, while her second book,Red Tail Feathers, continues the theme: finding grace in everyday moments.
“Every devo is based on a quote from the show,” she explained. “You can actually live by the words spoken in ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ How to get through the hard times, how to treat others with respect, how to stay humble. My kids even tease me now, they’re grown and they’ll say, ‘That sounds like something Caroline would say, Mom.’”
“Life is going to be hard,” Lee continued. “It was hard for the Ingalls, and it’s hard for us. They experienced loss, grief, failure, all the things we experience. But they walked through it with faith. That’s what I want to help people see.”
In many ways, she said, her public ministry began the moment she survived. “I call it Baby Grace in real life,” she says. “I was this little girl on TV, but I’m a follower of Jesus. This is my life. I felt like God was calling me to share it.”
She recently marked her 10th anniversary since the surgery. “It’s amazing to see where God has brought me,” she said. “The opportunities He’s given me are just incredible.”
Over the years, Lee has heard thousands of stories from fans, the childhood memories, the family rituals, the comfort the show offers in times of grief or transition. But one story, shared in the documentary, is her favorite.
“There’s this girl, she’s grown now, who dreamed of going along the Laura trail as her graduation present,” Lee recalled. “All her friends went to Florida for their senior trips. She wanted to do this. She contacted all the museums, made a roadmap, and she and her parents went together.”
“Every time I talk about it, I get emotional. To love Laura from a little girl and still love her that deeply at 18, it’s beautiful. It reminds you that this isn’t just a TV show. It’s the life of a real person who has affected so many people.”
The Laura Ingalls Wilder story, she believes, offers something rare in contemporary storytelling: hope.
“Her books were a gift,” Lee says. “And we all have the ability to make that kind of difference, even in just one person’s life.
“Little House Homecoming” places that legacy front and center, tracing Wilder’s childhood from the woods of Wisconsin to the rocky fields of Missouri. According to Lee, it’s a reminder that Wilder’s world was shaped by real places, real hardships and most importantly, real faith.
“If Laura could watch the documentary,” Lee said, “I think she’d love that it captures the places that made her who she was. She was so connected to community. Highlighting the real places, her homes, her landscapes, her people, I think that would mean everything to her.”
“When families sit down to watch, I hope they feel encouraged. I hope they remember what matters. I hope they slow down.”
“Little House Homecoming” is available on Trellis Virtual Cinema. Click here to order tickets online.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
