At the moment, one of the biggest new shows on Netflix is Little House on the Prairie, an adaptation of the popular children’s books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The show has gotten a mostly warm reception from both critics and audiences, but it’s not the only family-friendly literary adaptation on Netflix, nor is it the best.
Little House on the Prairie and Anne With An ‘E’ have a lot in common
But they’re different enough to both be worth your time
The Little House on the Prairie books are a fictionalized account of author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s actual childhood growing up in a series of pioneer settlements across the American Midwest, primarily in Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, and the Dakota Territory. There is a sense of warmth and nostalgia to this story, but it also doesn’t shy away from the fact that life on the frontier could be difficult. In the first episode of the Netflix show, something happens to the family dog that’s too upsetting to mention, but it probably wasn’t an uncommon occurrence among families crossing the untamed country in a covered wagon.
Anne With An ‘E’ is based on the Anne of Green Gables book series by L. M. Montgomery, about an orphan girl named Anne Shirley (played by Amybeth McNulty in the Netflix show) who ends up getting adopted by a pair of elderly siblings in the fictional town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada, where she works on their farm. Like Little House on the Prairie, Anne With An ‘E’ is set in the late nineteenth century and revolves around a spirited young woman trying to find her place in the world; in Little House on the Prairie, that girl is young Laura Ingalls (Alice Halsey). It also mixes a vision of pastoral utopia with an acknowledgment of how difficult life at this time could be.
There are differences, to be sure; Anne With An ‘E’ is set a bit closer to civilization while the Ingalls family in Little House on the Prairie have to subsist largely on their own. Still, if you like one of these shows, the odds are good that you might like the other. There’s even a crossover of sorts in Little House on the Prairie, with actress Megan Follows — who played Anne Shirley in a 1985 TV movie adaptation of Anne of Green Gables — playing Laura’s great-great-great-grandmother in a fever dream.
Anne With An ‘E’ goes further afield of the source material
And it’s better for it
Neither of these shows is 100% faithful to the source material, altering characters and plot elements that might not be as palatable to 21st century audiences. But Anne With An ‘E’ goes further.
In general, the tone of Anne With An ‘E’ is more serious than in the Anne of Green Gables books. That’s not to say that there isn’t any humor or lightness; Anne herself is a delightfully precocious person, an imaginative motormouth who spends much of her time with her head in the clouds. But on the show, there’s an element of melancholy running underneath Anne’s quirkiness. After all, she’s an orphan who lived with multiple families before being accepted by the Cuthbert siblings, not to mention the difficulties of orphanage life. Her flights of fancy are still charming, but in this context, they also feel like coping mechanisms. The show’s interpretation of Anne is overall darker than in adaptations past.
Anne With An ‘E’ confronts some serious issues, including prejudice, disease, and even suicide. Through it all, Anne remains the shows center of gravity, solving problems using both her imagination and her plain good sense.
So Anne With An ‘E’ is not a strict adaptation of the books, and if you’re a giant fan of L. M. Montgomery’s work, that might be a deal-breaker. But if you’re open to the changes, you’ll find that the show does a wonderful job of repurposing the familiar story and using it to explore new territory. And if you’re new to the story, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.
Anne With An ‘E’ never got the ending it deserved
But it remains a wonderful watch
Anne With An ‘E’ is the kind of deeply felt show that turns casual viewers into superfans. The proof is in how many fans were crestfallen when the show was canceled after three seasons, to the point where many of them got together and circulated petitions to save the series. One of those petitions has nearly two million signatures. That is the work of a very passionate fandom.
Anne With An ‘E’ was a co-production between Netflix and the Canadian television network CBC. The exact reasons for the cancelation are unclear. It may have had something to do with a deteriorating relationship between the two outfits, or that Anne With An ‘E’ simply did not have enough viewers to make it worth the investment. Whatever the reason, there are things left unresolved at the end of the third season, but the show is still very much worth watching.
More period dramas on Netflix
Happily, Little House on the Prairie has already been renewed for a second season, so it’s safe for now. And if you watch both of these series and still want more, you may want to check out some of the other great period dramas available on Netflix.
