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7 Shows To Watch if You Like Netflix's Little House on the Prairie

Hitch your wagon to these shows

Maggie Fremont
Crosby Fitzgerald, Luke Bracey, Skywalker Hughes, and Alice Halsey, Little House on the Prairie

Crosby Fitzgerald, Luke Bracey, Skywalker Hughes, and Alice Halsey, Little House on the Prairie

Eric Zachanowich/Netflix

Have you been swept away by the grass and the sky and the sad hotties of Netflix's newest adaptation of beloved pioneer tale Little House on the Prairie? The series, which follows Charles "Pa" Ingalls (Luke Bracey), Caroline "Ma" Ingalls (Crosby Fitzgerald), Laura (Alice Halsey), and Mary (Skywalker Hughes) as the family leaves Wisconsin and attempts to begin in a new life in the prairies of Kansas in the late 1800s, is easy to love thanks to its ability to be wholesome and sincere without ever getting too saccharine. It's not, however, the only series to find that balance. If you're looking for more series that can tell heartwarming stories while commenting on complex, serious issues — shows that can do smart coming-of-age narratives, and that are for the whole family but not afraid to get dark — there are some more options for you below. Take a look at seven series you might enjoy if you like Netflix's Little House on the Prairie

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More recommendations:

Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Lindsay Greenbush, and Melissa Sue Anderson, Little House on the Prairie

Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Lindsay Greenbush, and Melissa Sue Anderson, Little House on the Prairie

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Little House on the Prairie (1974)

If you've yet to see the original Little House on the Prairie, now's your chance. At the time of writing, the entire series — all nine seasons and three follow-up TV movies — are streaming on Peacock. This adaptation stars Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls (Landon also executive produced, wrote for, and directed on the series) and Melissa Gilbert as his "half pint," Laura. Aside from the movie-length pilot episode, which follows most of the story in Independence, this series mostly tells the story of the Ingallses in Plum Creek and Walnut Grove, Minnesota. There are enough episodes for you to Little House to your heart's content.

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Amybeth McNulty, Anne with an E

Amybeth McNulty, Anne with an E

Ken Woroner/Netflix

Anne with an E

Although I fear bringing up Anne with an E lest the show's fans reenter their mourning period after the Canadian series was heartbreakingly canceled after just three seasons on CBC and Netflix, it really is a great comparison for fans of this new version of Little House on the Prairie. It's another adaptation of a classic piece of children's literature — Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables — with multiple adaptations, including two beloved TV miniseries from the 1980s. This version of Anne Shirley's (Amybeth McNulty) story, in which she, an orphan, is adopted by an elderly brother and sister in 1896 and lives with them on their farm on a fictional Canadian island, is a little peppier than the latest Little House, but it too reflects some more modern-day sentiments and tackles some weighty issues. If you're a fan of any version of Anne, you should check out what McNulty does with the character. 

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Shay Rudolph, Momona Tamada, Malia Baker, and Sophie Grace, The Baby-Sitters Club

Shay Rudolph, Momona Tamada, Malia Baker, and Sophie Grace, The Baby-Sitters Club

Kailey Schwerman/Netflix

The Baby-Sitters Club (2020)

One thing that makes Netflix's Little House so special is how respectful and reverent it is for the complexities of young girlhood — and you'll find even more of this in Netflix's 2020 adaptation of the beloved middle grade series The Baby-Sitters Club. The TV series was frustratingly canceled after just two seasons, but before that we were gifted with a bright, smart take on Ann M. Martin's troop of hardworking, imperfect 13-year-old girls. It's sweet and heartwarming without every being too cloying, and it's full of delightful performances from its young cast. There's something here for both those watching with their own kids and those who show up for a nostalgia fix. 

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Kathryn Newton, Willa Fitzgerald, Maya Hawke, and Annes Elwy, Little Women

Kathryn Newton, Willa Fitzgerald, Maya Hawke, and Annes Elwy, Little Women

MASTERPIECE on PBS/BBC/Playground

Little Women (2017)

To be an Alcott-head is to know abundance, by which I mean, if you love Louisa May Alcott's seminal 1868 novel Little Women, you have so many options when it comes to good adaptations. How about one more? PBS Masterpiece's 2017 miniseries stars Maya Hawke as fiery writer Jo March; Emily Watson as her mother, Marmee; and Angela Lansbury as the exacting Aunt March. While, perhaps, not as visually interesting as Greta Gerwig's 2019 film adaptation, this three-episode version of Little Women is a faithful and satisfying one, and Hawke is a perfect choice for beloved Jo. Set close to the same time as Little House but in completely different circumstances, this story, too, manages to both tell a specific story about coming of age in a country ravaged by a Civil War and a universal one about coming of age as a young woman at any time. 

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Ella Bruccoleri, The Other Bennet Sister

Ella Bruccoleri, The Other Bennet Sister

James Pardon/BritBox

The Other Bennet Sister

If you're looking for more series that fit that wholesome-but-not-cheesy vibe, look no further than this BBC and BritBox-produced foray into the Jane Austen-verse, The Other Bennet Sister. The series, based on Janice Hadlow's novel of the same name, takes Mary Bennet, an oft-overlooked character from Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and throws her into her own story. It's fun and romantic (you'll never think about bird calls the same way), and star Ella Bruccoleri shines as her Mary bravely decides to leave her home behind and travel to London to see if there's more out there for her, and perhaps figure out who she really is along the way. Traveling to an unknown place, even though it's terrifying, in hopes of a better life — now where have I heard that one before?

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Alice Halsey and Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry

Alice Halsey and Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry

Apple TV

Lessons in Chemistry 

As Laura Ingalls, there's pressure for young Alice Halsey to deliver a layered performance as a young girl who is spirited, brave, and curious but never grating. It's not surprising that she rises to the occasion since she pulled off a similar feat in her onscreen debut, as the tiny genius Mad Zott in Apple TV's Lessons in Chemistry. The series, based on Bonnie Garmus' best-selling novel, stars Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott, a talented scientist stifled by the rampant misogyny of the 1950s, who winds up becoming a single mother to Mad and goes on to success as the host of a TV cooking show. It's a thoughtful look at the realities for a woman like Elizabeth at that time (with costumes to drool over). As Mad, Halsey finds the sweet spot and manages to be precious but not annoying, and the scenes she and Larson share are a highlight. 

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Luke Bracey and Maia Mitchell, The Artful Dodger

Luke Bracey and Maia Mitchell, The Artful Dodger

Hulu/Disney+

The Artful Dodger 

Can't get enough of Luke Bracey's Hot Pa on Little House? We get it. Also, how dare he? You can find more of Bracey's work over on Season 2 of the wild and delightful Hulu series The Artful Dodger, although in this show he's not so much chopping down trees and exposing forearms as he is a tightly buttoned fancy inspector man here to make life hard for our main characters. The Artful Dodger is a period piece — it's a reimagining of the Artful Dodger character from Oliver Twist in which Dodger, or Jack Dawkins (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), is on the run and has become a surgeon in the penal colony of Australia in the 1850s — but it's certainly not your mother's period piece. It's more Blur than Bach, you know? It's bloody and dirty and quite sweaty but always a good time, and Brodie-Sangster's chemistry with love interest Belle (Maia Mitchell) alone makes it worth a watch. If you're a Little House fan who also happens to be into the tone of Bridgerton, you'll be in heaven here. 

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