EXCLUSIVE: Netflix‘s Little House On the Prairie has assembled the new incarnation of the beloved Ingalls family. Luke Bracey (Elvis) and Crosby Fitzgerald (Palm Royale) have been cast as the parents, Charles Ingalls and Caroline Ingalls while Skywalker Hughes (Joe Pickett) is set to play their eldest daughter, Mary Ingalls. The trio join Alice Halsey who has landed the role of the Ingalls’ second daughter and series’ narrator Laura.
Described as part hopeful family drama, part epic survival tale, and part origin story of the American West, the new adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic semi-autobiographical novels comes from showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine and CBS Studios. It picks up the story when the Ingalls have two daughters, Mary and Laura.
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Michael Landon starred as Charles and executive produced the 1974 series, in which Caroline was played by Karen Grassle and Mary by Melissa Sue Anderson.
Bracey’s Charles Ingalls won his wife’s heart by carrying her three miles through the snow to a winter dance. He’s a man who’d fit in seamlessly into the 21st century. Ruggedly handsome, charming, outgoing. A farmer and a trapper. A carpenter and an artist. A poet, a musician, a skilled storyteller. The original Girl Dad. He is an optimist, always glass half-full. But he is also a wanderer. A seeker. A man forever in search of greener pastures.
Fitzgerald’s Caroline Ingalls did not marry her husband out of convenience — they fell truly madly deeply in love. It was a great romance — and it still is. She’s got a playful side, a romantic side — but at the end of the day, she’s the one who keeps this family on track. Like moms do. She’s quiet and patient and practical — but with a core of steel. She gave up her teaching career to have a family, but that yearning for independence never quite went away. Her marriage is one of equals — something rare in the 19th century. And though her trust in her husband is tested, the strength of their love endures.
Hughes’ Mary Ingalls is Laura’s older sister and polar opposite. A rule follower. Quiet and studious. Always angling to be the good daughter, the obedient one, the ladylike one, the prettier one. Other parents love Mary. Unlike her sister, she is uncomfortable in the natural world: the sun is too hot, the snow is too cold. She loves pretty ribbons and reading poetry and long afternoons of sewing. In other words, Laura and Mary are oil and water. Best friends and mortal enemies. They love each other deeply and hate each other intensely. But in the end, they always have each other’s backs — there is no choice but to protect each other in this wild new landscape.
Sonnenshine executive produces Little House On the Prairie alongside Joy Gorman Wettels for Joy Coalition, Trip Friendly for Friendly Family Productions, Dana Fox and Susanna Fogel. Sarah Adina Smith will direct the first episode. CBS Studios produces with Anonymous Content Studio. Filming is slated to begin in June in Winnipeg, Canada.
Australian actor Bracey is known for his roles in the movies Elvis, Hacksaw Ridge, Point Break and Holidate. He had a recurring role on Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere and is currently filming the second season of the Disney+/Hulu series The Artful Dodger. He is repped by UTA, Fourward and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Fitzgerald can next be seen in the Amazon feature Crime 101 and recurring on Hulu’s Amanda Knox limited series. Her credits include a recurring role on Apple’s Palm Royale and a guest starring turn on ABC’s Abbott Elementary. She’s repped by Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Alexander White Agency.
American-Canadian Hughes began her acting career in 2021 as a series regular on the Paramount+ series Joe Pickett. She also starred in the Lionsgate feature Ordinary Angels opposite Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson and guest starred on the Fox anthology series Accused. Hughes will next be seen in the films I, Object, alongside Anna Farris, and In the Blink of an Eye, alongside Kate McKinnon.