Five Netflix shows to watch if you loved ‘Little House on the Prairie’
The thing about new Netflix releases is that they unintentionally put viewers on a clock, forcing everyone to race against time before the spoilers ruin the fun. So, when the long-awaited Little House on the Prairie hit shelves as well, the frenzy to complete the series in one sitting reached new heights.
But now that the first season is done and dusted and the wait for its second season officially kicks in, how does the audience exactly fill the void when they crave more?
Well, by falling back on the safety net Netflix has so carefully curated over the years. Although that’s bound to raise questions and confusion, let us clear it all out for you.
If you’re desperately seeking something to follow up with that conveys similar themes of family, community, and survival against historical turning points, here are five Netflix shows to watch after Little House on the Prairie.
Five Netflix shows to stream after Little House on the Prairie
Anne with an E (Niki Caro, Helen Shaver, Paul Fox, Norma Bailey, Stephen Dunn, and Amanda Tapping, 2017-2019)
If you liked the exploration of family, community, and finding one’s place in a changing world in Little House on the Prairie, Anne with an E could be the perfect follow-up to go for. Loosely adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 1908 children’s classic, Anne of Green Gables, the coming-of-age series follows Anne Shirley, a resilient orphan with a traumatic past, who is mistakenly adopted by the Cuthbert family.
Despite the misunderstanding, Anne’s fierce optimism and her fiercely progressive spirit win over her new family and conservative community of Avonlea. Set in the 1890s on Canada’s Prince Edward Island, Anne with an E is a period drama unfolding over three seasons, detailing Anne’s past and present while tackling complex themes of racism, classism, and gender inequality.
Heartland (Dean Bennett, 2007-Present)
In case you want a long-running, heartwarming family saga that captures a family’s connection to their land and beyond while navigating life’s challenges in a close-knit community, Heartland is currently streaming on Netflix and waiting for you. The Canadian drama series, based on the books by Lauren Brook, is set in Alberta. It follows the Fleming-Bartlett clan on a horse ranch, particularly telling the story of Amy, who has a gift for healing horses.
Heartland begins when teenager Amy loses her mother in a car crash. While devastated, the tragedy brings her old sister and their widowed grandfather together, as they step up to save the family ranch, dedicating their lives to healing and retraining troubled horses and navigating love, loss, and new beginnings, falling back on one another and their community for survival.
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Alex García Lopez, Laura Mora, and Carlos Moreno, 2024-Present)
For a far more intense, multi-generational epic, we sincerely suggest One Hundred Years of Solitude, based on Gabriel García Márquez’s legendary book. It follows two Buendia cousins, who marry each other against their parents’ wishes, escaping their village lest they get cursed by the community. As they lead an expedition towards the unknown, it leads to the founding of Macondo, an isolated, mythical utopia where the extraordinary and the ordinary coexist.
As the town grows with the Buendia’s settlement, so does the sprawling family tree. Although One Hundred Years of Solitude is famous for introducing elements of magic realism, its focus on the cyclical nature of family, survival, and historical transition echoes the epic aura of frontier stories, similar to that of Little House on the Prairie.
Virgin River (Martin Wood, Andy Mikita, Monika Mitchell, Gail Harvey, Felipe Rodriguez, and Tim Matheson, 2019-Present)
Although set in the modern day, Virgin River could seamlessly hit home for the fans of Little House on the Prairie for its pigeonhole focus on a close-knit, small-town community, overcoming personal hurdles, and the quiet, emotional journey of its protagonist, Melinda, who builds a new life. The Netflix series follows Mel, a LA-based nurse practitioner who relocates to a remote Northern California town to start anew after a big tragedy.
While she arrives in town to let go of the ghosts of the past, once there, Virgin River captures Mel’s life of transition as she navigates local drama, tackles unexpected medical emergencies, and eventually finds another reason to believe in love when she meets local bar owner and former Marine Jack Sheridan.
Ransom Canyon (Amanda Marsalis, David McWhirter, Meera Menon, and Michael Offer, 2025-Present)
Lastly, to wrap up the Little House follow-up marathon, we have Ransom Canyon if you enjoyed the themes of family legacy, land, and small-town dynamics in the latest literary adaptation, although the latter leans towards neo-Western and romance genres. Set in the rugged landscapes of Texas Hill Country, just like Walnut Grove, the town of Ransom is a main character.
It’s a place where everyone knows each other, secrets are hard to conceal, and the community’s way of life is constantly under pressure. Ransom Canyon, essentially a multigenerational western saga packed with several intertwined plotlines, revolves around three ranching families battling for land and water control.