We’re always impressed when something actually stays secret, because it feels like nothing in this world does anymore. Everything gets leaked or talked about somewhere. And hey, we get it. There’s always something going on that everyone wants to hear about and nobody’s telling.
So credit where it’s due. Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie has wrapped filming on Season 2. Only now that it’s done has the streamer revealed ten new additions to the cast.
That timing makes sense. Season 1 ended with the Ingalls family leaving Independence, and Season 2 takes them to Walnut Grove. A new town means a whole new set of neighbors, and these are the people the Ingalls will be building a life around. New life means new people and that is definitely something that we can get behind.
Meet the new residents of Walnut Grove
Here’s who’s joining –
- David Wronko as Thomas Perry, the whip-smart son of Walnut Grove’s wealthiest family, a big fish in a small pond with plans to attend college in New York.
- Erik Athavale (American Hostage) as Reverend Alden, the warm, energetic minister of Walnut Grove’s Congregational church.
- Elyse Levesque (Ready or Not, Orphan Black) as Emma Perry, Luther’s wife and mother to Thomas and Maud. She was born wealthy, she’s refined and charitable, and she secretly calls the shots in her husband’s business.
- Graham Harvey (The Night Agent) as Johnny Johnson, a gentle farm boy and son of Norwegian immigrants.
- Jacinta Forest Lewitski as Hannah Walker, Lena Nelson’s dry-witted farm manager, who has a soft spot for outsiders.
- Lyla Porter-Follows (High Potential) as Mrs. Lena Nelson, a young widow running the farm her husband left her.
- Martin Roach (Cross) as Simon Hughes, a Civil War veteran, widower, and local blacksmith who keeps the peace in town.
- Paul Greene (When Calls the Heart, Autumn and the Black Jaguar) as Luther Perry, the dapper, authoritative, and very unpopular grain buyer and town banker, who’s happy to put profits ahead of farmers.
- Ryan Northcott (Anna Pigeon) as William Oleson, husband to Margaret Oleson and the even-tempered owner of Walnut Grove’s finest store.
- Scott Porter (Ginny & Georgia, Friday Night Lights, Hart of Dixie) as Peter Ingalls, Charles “Pa” Ingalls’s older brother.
Why these castings matter
What jumps out right away is how much of this list is about power and money in a small town. The Perrys are the wealthiest family in Walnut Grove, and Luther is the banker and grain buyer, which means he decides what a farmer’s harvest is worth. For a family like the Ingalls, who survive on whatever the land gives them, that man has enormous control over their lives. Put him next to struggling farmers, a young widow holding onto her late husband’s land, and a blacksmith who keeps the peace, and you can already see the tensions Season 2 is setting up.
And I love the detail that Emma secretly runs her husband’s business. That’s a smart update for a frontier story. It acknowledges that women in this era often held real power without ever getting credit for it, and Elyse Levesque is perfect for a character whose politeness may be covering something sharper.
Lena Nelson is another one to watch. A young widow running a farm on her own, with a farm manager who looks out for outsiders, is a story about a woman refusing to give up what’s hers in a world that expects her to. Little House has always been at its best when it shows how hard people fought just to hold onto their place.
Then there’s Scott Porter. Friday Night Lights fans, I see you. Netflix describes Peter as the responsible one who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and is a friend to everyone. That’s an interesting contrast with Charles, who has always been the dreamer chasing the next horizon. Bringing in the steady older brother gives us a new way to look at Pa: what it means to be the one who keeps moving his family west, while his brother is the one who stays and holds everything together.
When can we watch?
There’s no premiere date yet. Though season 2 has finished filming it doens’t means that we’re getting it right away. We’re thinking later/mid 2027.
Until then, Walnut Grove is getting very crowded, and I can’t wait to meet everyone.
