Alison Arngrim thinks there’s room for Little House on the Prairie fans, old and new.
Arngrim spoke about the Netflix reboot of the beloved series, which premiered earlier this year. Arngrim is the first original cast member to make a cameo on the new Little House, speaking to PEOPLE about the experience.
“There are the diehard fans who, it’s like Highlander — there can only be one. They love our show and they’re afraid of the new show. But I say it’s like Star Trek. You can have more than one Star Trek,” she tells PEOPLE.
Arngrim said it was “the funniest thing in the entire universe” to learn the production was interested in featuring her.
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“I played this scary lady in the woods who looks like she’s going to eat Laura and Mary for breakfast. I just had so much fun doing that and I was so honored to be, again, connected to Little House and just to get to continue the whole thread by popping up in it,” she laughed, adding, “I was completely jazzed to do it and I think it came out great.”
Dean Butler also spoke with PEOPLE, sharing that he’d be open to a cameo himself.
“Look, they’re in the middle of season two. Alison got a call. I’m hoping I’ll get a call,” he shared.
Butler continued, “We will always be the OG Little House series, but there’s room for both. It’s beautifully shot. It’s beautifully produced. I think it’s a wonderful cast of people. They assembled a really great group.”
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One of the big differences in the show is that it has a slower pace and a different tone, something Butler believes Michael Landon himself would have been open to.
“Michael had stories that he wanted to tell. The new series, given that they’re only doing eight episodes a year, they’re able to drill down more comfortably into the contents of the books. And I think that’s a really nice thing,” he shared.
Arngrim agreed and added, “I think everyone’s loving the deep dive into the whole Osage Native American thing. We talked about it in the pilot of our show, OG, but we only dealt with Kansas in our show for the pilot. Then they moved to Walnut Grove.”
“This one, the whole first season, all eight episodes are in Kansas. So they’re able to bring back Dr. Tan, who’s a real person who was in the books,” she continued.
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The actress added, “They’re able to go fully into the whole politics of what was happening with the Osage and the American government and the Homesteading Act and who was getting shut out and what happened to Charles and why they had to leave. They’re able to really get into that. And I think for today’s audience, that’s something they’re really interested in.”
Butler also appreciates the musical element. He noted, “I love the family singing that they’re doing as Pa plays the fiddle and the girls sing along. I think that’s really special. I think it’s part of the whole fiber of what Laura wrote about, that that happens. It’s a really nice touch and I love that”.
Arngrim, Butler and other members of the cast are excited to reunite and connect with fans at the upcoming event at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, from Sept. 11 to Sept. 13.
Tickets for the Little House on the Prairie Nashville event are now available.
