A long-running drama based upon the "Little House" series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, "Little House on the Prairie" follows the lives of the simple, farming Ingalls family: Charles, Caroline, Mary, Laura, Carrie and then Grace and the later adopted Albert, James and Cassandra, who settle into a quaint little house on the banks of Plum Creek near the small town of Walnut Grove during the late 1800s.

In the early 1970's, television producer and executive, Ed Friendly came across the autobiographical Little House books written by the real Laura Ingalls Wilder. Friendly was easily charmed by the tales of life on the American Frontier and approached Michael Landon to direct a television pilot. Once Landon suggested himself for the role of Charles Ingalls, NBC knew they had the makings of a hit series. With a loose adaptation of the original Little House books, Little House on the Prairie debuted with exceptional ratings. For nine strong years, American audiences had a front row view into life on a seventeenth century western frontier.