A return to "Little House on the Prairie"

It's Sunday Morningon CBS, and here again is Jane Pauley. TV viewers of a certain age, of course, remember Little House on the Prairie,the beloved series starring Michael Landon. Well, it's back. And Faith Salie has a preview. I hate being inside all day when the prairie is right out here.

It's maybe not by accident that a new adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's semi-autobiographical book series, Little House on the Prairie, returns to screens this summer. The 250th anniversary of the country's founding, says showrunner and writer rebecca sonnenshine. A lot of people consider them children's literature, but I really do think they're really about how America became America.

She says Little House on the Prairie is about our country's big dreams. It's all about myth making. Our culture is really wrapped up in the stories we tell about ourselves. And the Ingalls in the book, they told stories all the time, and they sing songs that tell stories. The violets were blowing in the springtime. Grass was fresh and green.

The new series, a joint Netflix-CBS studios production, follows the trials and tribulations of the Ingalls family. Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls and Skywalker Hughes as her sister Mary, Crosby Fitzgerald plays Ma, Luke Bracy as Pa. What do you think music means to the Ingalls family? It's like one of the only things they have. Other than each other. They couldn't really do a lot on the prairie. There weren't a lot of available activities other than go farming. [LAUGHTER] It's also tradition. I mean, these songs have been passed down. It reminds them of the home they left. It is something-- That gives them hope. They probably taught the girls. Music gives them hope. I think as well, it's one thing that can't be taken away from them. All right, so house goes here, garden here.

You could say hope for a better life drives the Ingalls family by covered wagon on their perilous journey from Wisconsin West to what was then Osage territory. What do you think? My sister said I was a fool to leave everything and everyone I ever knew and follow you into the dark. Here we are. They look like sturdy little animals. They are. We made a good trade.

Fans of the beloved 1970s television show with Michael Landon might not remember how much actual danger and suffering the family experienced. [WAGON CREAKING] [GROANING]

The new show was shot in Manitoba, Canada, which provided the Big Skye and raging rivers. [WOMEN SCREAMING] Girls, hold on. No! Laws in a life or death situation every single day. She helps and protects her family every day. And in those times in that century, as a girl too, it's hard, but she stays strong throughout it. And I think a lot of people admire her for that. And I think that's part of the reason that all the books are so popular. Laura Ingalls Wilder once said, all that I told is true, but it is not the whole truth. That was my North Star, was that very quote. Joy Gorman Wettels, the show's executive producer, rediscovered the books, reading them with her family during the pandemic. There's so much to piece together that Laura lived through that could never have been covered completely in the books and could never have been covered in the original series. And there are so many characters who didn't have a voice in the originals that could now. Spring rains make for fast waters.

The show brings us into the lives of characters from the books that weren't fully explored, like Dr. Tan, the books Black doctor. You can try as best you can.

Their neighbor, Mr. Edwards, is a battle-scarred Civil War vet. I'd like to help you build your house. Those girls are going to need a roof over their heads before the snows come or the wolves.

The Ingalls' other neighbors who strike fear in Ma are in Osage family. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Why shouldn't we? There are some critical voices that say, oh no, the show is woke, whatever that means to those critics. Did you have a sense that this show would be any kind of fodder for culture wars? I knew that there would be controversy around how this is done. I just think that it doesn't help us to look back and erase the literature or erase the mistakes. It helps us to look at them through a new lens in a way that welcomes new readers and welcomes new viewers.

And it's that kind of expansive feeling of community that Alice Halsey says Little Houseis all about. Sometimes adventure doesn't just come in easy forms. Sometimes, you have to face a lot of danger, but you'll be rewarded at the end with new friends, new family that you didn't know would be there at the start. Maybe it leads to another world.

That hopeful sentiment strikes at the heart of this little house. Hope is everything. It's the only thing. The thing I love about Charles is he's always asking the question, what if it's great? And that's a wonderful way to look at life. And that's what he thinks of when he thinks of his family. He wants the best for them, and he just wants to sit there and go, imagine if this is great and my family's having a great time, and my family's happy, and my family's healthy. Maybe better put in the girls favorite song from the show, Always Hope. Always hope, and I come to you, my lad Always hope, and I come to you, my lad Though father and mother And I should get mad Always hope, and I'll come to you, my lad. [APPLAUSE]

Gorgeous.