"Incredible" Netflix Western Spinoff Pitched By Star Ahead Of Season 1

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The Ingalls family running through the fields in Little House on the Prairie

Published Jun 22, 2026, 4:02 AM EDT

Matthew Biggin joined the Screen Rant team as a News Writer in 2021. He has also worked as a screenwriter and script editor, as well as contributing to various movie and TV blogs. Matt is a movie buff, Twin Dad, and football (soccer) enthusiast, who knows with absolute, categorical, iron-clad certainty, that Han shot first.

A star of upcoming Netflix western Little House on the Prairie has already pitched a spinoff show based around his character.

The upcoming adaptation of the beloved novel series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is set to release next month, and will serve as the second live-action series of the same name. Little House on the Prairie boasts an ensemble cast, including Alice Halsey, Luke Bracey, Cosby Fitzgerald, and Jocko Sims as Dr. George Tann.

Per THR, Sims opened up on the possibility of a spinoff focused on Dr. Tann, and how he has been approaching the writers over the concept. Sims feels there is great scope for a series focused on Tann, "Not just with working with and taking care of Indigenous peoples, but the hospitals that he had in Oklahoma and Kansas." Check out his comments below:

“I feel there’s so much there, not just with working with and taking care of Indigenous peoples, but the hospitals that he had in Oklahoma and Kansas. Then the Civil War aspect. What a life. I feel people would be curious about and pleasantly surprised that there was this individual in the 1800s, a Black man, beloved by many cultures. How incredible would that story be?”

The idea of a Tann spinoff could work exceptionally well, especially as Sims' character is not yet involved in Little House on the Prairie season 2, which is currently filming. Exploring Tann's life and work with Indigenous people, as well as his hospitals in Oklahoma and Kansas is a great way to explore the character more deeply.

Then there is the fact that Tann would face cultural differences as a Black man, but would grow to be loved by multiple communities. It would make for an exciting and important social commentary. This gives the opportunity to turn Little House on the Prairie into a franchise that spans different shows, and allows for exploration of different storylines that the main show may not explore.

Sims is right that this does feel like a viable avenue for a spinoff, and the fact that Tann is a doctor could make for a nomadic character who can travel from place to place, interacting with different communities and cultures. While nothing is confirmed as of yet, the chances of a spinoff happening should not be ruled out.

Indeed, the fact that Netflix has renewed Little House on the Prairie for a second season ahead of the season 1 premiere suggests they have confidence that the series will be a success. Preparing for deeper explorations of this world, and adapting directly from Ingalls Wilder's books, helps Little House on the Prairie fill the gap left by Taylor Sheridan's modern classic Yellowstone.

Little House on the Prairie drops on Netflix on July 9.