Melissa Sue Anderson is a famous American-Canadian actress who began her acting career as a child. Her career started a little before her role on Little House on the Prairie with a couple of commercials in Los Angeles.
But, Melissa Sue Anderson’s big break came when she got the role of Mary Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. She starred in the NBC drama for eight years, from 1974 until 1981. However, a lot has changed over the years, making it seem that a show like this might not do well today.
All the way back in 2010, she was promoting a book she had just finished writing, called “The Way I See It: A Look Back on My Life on Little House.” So, Melissa Sue Anderson was doing a tour to get her book off the shelves.
During an interview with Hollywood Chicago, Melissa Sue Anderson opens up about her time on Little House on the Prairie. While on the show, she is asked specifically about how the show was so different forty years ago.
Melissa Sue Anderson Explains Why the Show Wouldn’t Do Well Today
“You were a child actor during the 1970s. What was different for actors then that you simply don’t observe now?”
Melissa Sue Anderson readies her response to the question. The book itself is set in a very different world and the show needed to capture that. Thus, she feels that Little House on the Prairie couldn’t survive on television today.
“Well, we didn’t make the kind of money that kids make now. The business was different. It was much more creatively run. It was still a business, but shows were actually given a chance. Little House would never make it now; it was too slow. That is something about the times that are different as well.”
She explains further that dramas on television have a lot more energy than their show has. Melissa Sue Anderson also notes that there would be no one interested in watching the show.
“I think our show was a quieter and more slowly paced drama, and I don’t know if people would sit through it now. And also, we’d never have a chance to find an audience with such a show. The business now would never give us a chance. And of course, there is no Mike Landon. And that show would never have sold if it wasn’t for Mike Landon.”
While it may be true that the show is too slow for today’s audience, the books are still fascinating. For those that grew up reading about and watching the Ingalls family, the show is still very entertaining.
