- 'Little House on the Prairie' was a popular series
- It was almost cancelled too early
- Learn more here
The popular family series Little House on the Prairie was on the air from 1974 to 1983. The show reached millions of people around the world.
In 210 episodes and 10 seasons, the series followed the adventures of the "Ingalls" family in the town of Walnut Grove. The show finally ended in March 1983 — but it turns out it very nearly concluded long before that.
Why Little House on the Prairie was almost cancelled
In fact, there was already talk of ending the series after season 2. In the first season, Little House was a complete success, but the number of viewers fell drastically in the second season. NBC considered discontinuing it for that reason, according to IMDb.
The network instead moved the show from Wednesday nights to Mondays in order to attract a wider audience again. That helped, because the ratings jumped in the third season and thereafter.
NBC then intended to end the series for good after season 4, but ratings remained high enough to go on for a fifth season. Little House remained in the Top 30 most-watched series until it was cancelled in 1983.
By the end, the "Ingalls" family could no longer maintain high ratings. As Michael Landon once told The New York Times, Little House was cancelled because the series had "run its course."
You can click here to revisit how the final episode ended.
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