Best tv shows like Little House on the Prairie
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, and Karen Grassle, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, feel good, serious, retro, soap opera, juvenile, historical drama, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Little House on the Prairie (1974):
Similar in 78%
Empire Falls (2005)
Plot Summary:
A decaying New England town is the backdrop for its unique citizens, lead by unassuming restaurant manager Miles Roby.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 197 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, sincere, captivating, realistic, witty, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Home and Away (1988)
Plot Summary:
Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. During the early 2000s, the central storylines focused on the Sutherlands and later, the Hunters. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, saga, telenovela
Similar in 77%
Ponderosa (2001)
Plot Summary:
Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX-TV that ran for the 2001–2002 television season. Envisioned as a prequel to the long-running NBC series Bonanza, it had less gunfire, brawling and other traditional western elements than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV's decision to hire Beth Sullivan, creator and executive producer of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman to oversee scripts and executive produce, which some believe gave the series a softer edge. Ponderosa was canceled after one season, in part because of disappointing ratings and high production costs. Although Sullivan had hoped to film the series in and around Los Angeles, PAX decided to film in Australia to reduce costs. Series "show runner" Sullivan sustained severe injuries in a car crash only twelve days after the airing of the first season's last episode. The show should not be confused with Ponderosa, the title used for Bonanza reruns aired on NBC during the summer of 1972.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 142
Genere: Western, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
Cedar Cove (2013)
Plot Summary:
Judge Olivia Lockhart is considered the community's guiding light in the picturesque, coastal town of Cedar Cove, Washington. But like everyone else, Olivia fights the uphill battle of balancing career with family and finding love, all the while doing her best to care for the township she calls home. Based on best-selling author Debbie Macomber’s beloved book series.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, touching, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999)
Plot Summary:
The third installment of the Sarah trilogy provides a glorious and touching story of a family drawn together by adversity. On a cold winter day a stranger shows up at the farm. He is slow to reveal his identity. When they find out he is Jacobs father, John Witting, thought long ago dead, hard questions about the past are difficult to get answered.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 84%
Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1994)
Plot Summary:
The Man from Snowy River is an Australian television series based on Banjo Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River". Released in Australia as Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River, the series was subsequently released in both the United States and the United Kingdom as Snowy River: The McGregor Saga. The television series has no relationship to the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River or the 1988 sequel The Man from Snowy River II. Instead, the series follows the adventures of Matt McGregor, a successful squatter, and his family. Matt is the hero immortalized in Banjo Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River", and the series is set 25 years after his famous ride. The first season was very much a soap opera with several story arcs, but the primary one concerns the arrival of Matt's American nephew, who's bent on revenge, certain Matt cheated his father out of the station Matt now owns. In subsequent seasons, there were shorter story-arcs, often featuring guest stars over a few episodes, and some episodes stood entirely on their own. Stars and guest stars of the series included notables and future notables Andrew Clarke, Guy Pearce, Josh Lucas, Victoria Tennant, Olivia Newton John, Tracy Nelson, Lee Horsley, Dean Stockwell, Chad Lowe, Jane Badler, Wendy Hughes, Hugh Jackman, and Frances O'Connor.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 950
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, saga
Similar in 86%
When Hope Calls (2019)
Plot Summary:
The story of sisters Lillian and Grace who open an orphanage in the 1916 Western town of Brookfield. Caught between the traditions of cattle ranchers and the ambitions of a growing town, they strive to find romance and happiness while overcoming the challenges of helping the children in their care.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: light, sincere, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, period drama
Similar in 88%
Christy (1994)
Plot Summary:
Christy is an American historical fiction drama series which aired on CBS from April 1994 to August 1995, for twenty episodes. Christy was based on the novel Christy by Catherine Marshall, the widow of Senate chaplain Peter Marshall. The novel had been a bestseller in 1968, and the week following the debut of the TV-movie and program saw the novel jump from #120 up to #15 on the USA Today bestseller list. Series regular Tyne Daly won an Emmy Award for her work on the series.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, period drama
Similar in 79%
The Waltons (1972)
Plot Summary:
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show is centered on a family in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot aired as a television movie entitled The Homecoming: A Christmas Story and was broadcast on December 19, 1971. Beginning in September 1972, the series originally aired on CBS for a total of nine seasons. After the series was canceled in 1981, three television movie sequels followed in 1982, with three more in the 1990s. The Waltons was produced by Lorimar Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution in syndication.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: absurd, sitcom, juvenile, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, historical drama
Similar in 88%
Love's Unfolding Dream (2007)
Plot Summary:
Centers on Missy's adopted daughter Belinda Tyler as she follows her dream. Belinda wants to be a doctor, but this time period does not look kindly on women with careers, especially one in the medical field. But Belinda is a strong-minded woman and deeply wants a career as a doctor. She manages to prove her abilities while assisting the local doctor and caring for an old woman who recently experienced a stroke. Belinda nurses her back to health and helps her regain the use of her arm again. Belinda also meets the nephew of their deceased neighbor. Drew comes to town to get his uncle's farm in shape to sell. After that he intends on returning to New York to join his father's law practice. He has no desire to stay in this small, unsophisticated town. But after meeting Belinda he has second thoughts. Belinda also feels something for Drew, but she is conflicted because she wants to be a doctor.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, atmospheric, touching, captivating, realistic, saga, historical romance, serious, uplifting
Similar in 78%
Love's Everlasting Courage (2011)
Plot Summary:
Clark Davis struggles to maintain his land and support his family during a long drought. With a bank loan to repay, his wife, Ellen, takes a job in town as a seamstress, but soon becomes ill with scarlet fever. Devastated to lose his beloved wife, Clark and his young daughter Missie turn to his parents Irene and Lloyd for support. Clark must find a way to save his farm and survive Ellen's death without losing the person he loves most: his daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: Ireland, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, saga, historical romance, period drama
Similar in 88%
Love's Enduring Promise (2004)
Plot Summary:
In this Janette Oke sequel to "Love Comes Softly," the eldest child in an 1800s frontier family, Missie Davis is a bright and beautiful elementary schoolteacher whose love for the prairie is matched only by her passion for books. When Missie encounters Grant, a handsome New England railroad executive, she feels as though shes met a hero from one of her novels.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sentimental, serious, touching, emotional, realistic, romantic, saga, historical romance, christian film
Similar in 79%
Love's Unending Legacy (2007)
Plot Summary:
Missie three years later: being a single mother after her husband Willie was shot during a poker scuffle. She and Maddy move back in with her parents Clark and Marty. She finds a new home, and finds a new teaching position that she settles right into, but Missie has lost all faith in herself, until a chance encounter at her father's church where she adopts homeless orphan Belinda Marshall.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sentimental, touching, serious, saga, sex comedy, historical romance, emotional, realistic, christian film
Similar in 85%
McLeod's Daughters (2001)
Plot Summary:
McLeod's Daughters is an Australian television series that began airing on the Nine Network on 8 August 2001. This Logie award winning drama series follows the lives of half sisters Claire and Tess McLeod as they embark on a mission: to run Drovers Run, a farm that has been in the McLeod family for generations. After being passed down from father to son, Drover's has now reunited Claire and Tess after 20 years. They now have to run a farm while balancing their lives, loves and losses.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: realistic, witty, sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, exciting, idiotic, telenovela
Similar in 83%
Love's Abiding Joy (2006)
Plot Summary:
The continued Westward journey of settlers Missie and Willie Lahaye. Their roots now firmly planted as they set up homestead in the far West, Missie begins to realize her passion for teaching as Willie cares for the couple's young daughter Kathy while expanding the family ranch with a little help from sons Jeff and Matthew. When the frontier railroad comes to town, the pleasure of a long-promised visit from Missie's father Clark is suddenly offset by the tragic death of young Kathy. As the untimely demise of their beloved daughter begins to drive an emotional wedge between Missie and Willie, the devastated father unexpectedly accepts an offer made by the powerful Samuel Doros to assume the role of town sheriff. Their faith shaken and their once close-knit bond suddenly torn asunder, Missie and Willie desperately attempt to bring their crumbling family back together as son Jeff faces a series of dangers while hopelessly falling for Doros' beautiful daughter Colette.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, saga, historical romance, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 78%
Love's Long Journey (2005)
Plot Summary:
Missie's surprise pregnancy sets her on a new course that is both thrilling and terrifying. After all the planning and dreaming, she and her husband, Willie, have headed west in a covered wagon, leaving behind the prairie home of Missie's parents. Now, caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again, Missie copes with the challenges, and cherishes the rewards, of her new homestead.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sentimental, touching, emotional, saga, costume drama, historical romance, serious, realistic, period drama
Similar in 88%
Love Begins (2010)
Plot Summary:
Clark Davis (Wes Brown) adventurous dreams of seeing the world are put into jeopardy after he and a friend start a fight which damages a local cafe. Through a plea deal with the Sheriff (Jere Burns) and café owner Millie (Nancy McKeon), Clark works off his sentence as a farmhand for the Barlow sisters, Ellen (Julie Mond) and Cassie (Abigail Mavity). Older sister Ellen doesnt understand Cassies friendly nature with Clark; she agreed to the Sheriffs offer only because the farm has become too much to maintain alone. Clark is slowing winning Ellen over, but suddenly suffers a traumatic head injury in a fall. After Ellen nurses him back to health, her former fiancé returns to win her back. Will Clark travel on or stay behind where love begins?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Family, Western
Country: Ireland, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, saga, historical romance, touching, feel good
Similar in 75%
Heartland (2007)
Plot Summary:
Life is hard on the Flemings' ranch in the Alberta foothills where abused or neglected horses find refuge with a kind, hard-working family. Debts abound and the bank is about to foreclose. Can they keep the ranch running?.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, sentimental, sincere, medical drama, realistic
Similar in 82%
7th Heaven (1996)
Plot Summary:
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on The WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007. The series finale was scheduled for May 8, 2006; however, the show was renewed by The CW when the intended final episode received high ratings. The final season premiered on Monday, September 25, 2006 and ended on May 13, 2007. 7th Heaven is the longest-running series that has ever aired on The WB and is the longest-running family drama in television history. It is also the longest-running show produced by Aaron Spelling. Dan Foliart composed the theme song "7th Heaven", which is performed by Steve Plunkett in the introduction of each episode.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, semi serious, sincere, touching, feel good, realistic, biblical, family comedy, romantic drama, religious drama
Similar in 75%
Avonlea (1990)
Plot Summary:
After her father is accused of embezzlement, wealthy Sara Stanley is sent to live with her deceased mother's relatives on Prince Edward Island. While there, she must adjust to life in the small rural town of Avonlea, learn to cope with her infamous aunts, Hetty and Olivia, and learn to get along with her jealous cousins who become victims and cohorts in Sara’s antics and misadventures. Everything comes to a head when the adults are called away and her older cousin, Felicity, is left in charge – not knowing what troubles will ensue. Soon Sara must make a heart wrenching decision: whether to stay in Avonlea or return to her father. Through the combination of the episodes “The Journey Begins” and “Proof of the Pudding” this digitally-mastered movie was created as an introduction to the award-winning “Road to Avonlea” series.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Mystery, Romance
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, soap opera, realistic, saga, period drama, vintage
Similar in 86%
An American Girl Adventure (2005)
Plot Summary:
Pre-American Revolution Virginian girl whose love for the outdoors leads to the friendship of a lifetime. Felicity loves horses, and though her parents plead with her to remain indoors, she years to ride the open plains. When Felicity comes into contact with a beautiful mare which has suffered at the hands of its callous owner, she takes it upon herself to care for the creature.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, feel good, realistic
Similar in 86%
When Calls The Heart (2014)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Thatcher, a young school teacher from a wealthy Eastern family, migrates from the big city to teach school in a small coal mining town in the west.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, serious, soap opera, period piece, light, romantic, captivating, inspirational
Similar in 86%
Love Finds A Home (2009)
Plot Summary:
In this sequel, Lillian has been adopted and it's several years later. Annie, married and pregnant, visits her fellow doctor friend, Dr. Owen. Dr Owen desperately wants a baby, but seems unable to become pregnant. Lillian finds a love interest, an assistant to her adoptive dad, the latter has become quite overprotective.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, touching, serious, emotional, historical romance, uplifting, period drama
Similar in 90%
Anne of Avonlea (1987)
Plot Summary:
Anne Shirley, now a schoolteacher, has begun writing stories and collecting rejection slips. She makes the acquaintance of a handsome, rich, bachelor, chases a cow, and wins (to her chagrin) a baking soda company's writing contest. She acts as Diana's maid of honor, and refuses Gilbert Blythe's marriage proposal; which sends her to teach Kingsport Ladies' College, an exclusive girls school, where she meets opposition from one of the teachers, Miss Brooke, and the Pringle clan (one of whom is a rich, handsome bachelor). But while Anne enjoys the battle, and the friends she makes, she returns to Avonlea.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 230 min
Plot tags: touching, period piece, feel good, humorous, sentimental, uplifting, sad, juvenile, romantic drama, realistic
Similar in 85%
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
Plot Summary:
At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to take on an orphan boy as help for their farm. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley. Anne's a dreamer with an unusual point of view, far removed from Marilla's pragmatic ways, and it's only on trial that Marilla agrees to keep Anne.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada, West Germany, USA
Duration: 199 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, period piece, emotional, humorous, feel good, inspirational, uplifting, entertaining, sad
Similar in 85%
Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in Kansas in the year 1910. Jacob Witting, a widowed farmer who is still saddened by the death of his wife during childbirth several years earlier, finds that the task of taking care of his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult to handle alone. He advertises in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. Sarah, from Maine, travels out to become his wife. But Sarah grow.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, captivating, realistic, serious, crying, period drama
Similar in 90%
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is an American Western drama series created by Beth Sullivan and starring Jane Seymour who plays Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn, a physician who leaves Boston in search of adventure in the American West and who settles in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The television series ran on CBS for six seasons, from January 1, 1993 to May 16, 1998. In total, 150 episodes were produced, plus two television movies which were made after the series was cancelled. It aired in over 100 countries. Since 1997, reruns have been shown in syndication and on ABC Family, Ion Television, the Hallmark Channel, gmc, Eleven, CBS Drama and INSP.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Family, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, touching, medical drama, soap opera, juvenile, period drama, telenovela
Similar in 80%
Anne with an E (2017)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890’s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: compassionate, sincere, touching, realistic, emotional, costume drama, period piece, sad, historical drama, period drama
Similar in 89%
Love Comes Softly (2003)
Plot Summary:
Marty is a 19 year old pioneer woman, recently married. She goes west with her husband Clem, hoping to start a new life. But Clem unexpectedly dies, and Marty finds herself alone, two months pregnant. Clark Davis, a widower, offers her a marriage of convenience: she needs food and money, and he needs someone to take care of his daughter Missie. She accepts his proposal as a temporary solution.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, emotional, heartbreaking, funny, romantic, saga
Similar in 79%
Little Women (1994)
Plot Summary:
With their father away as a chaplain in the Civil War, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy grow up with their mother in somewhat reduced circumstances. They are a close family who inevitably have their squabbles and tragedies. But the bond holds even when, later, male friends start to become a part of the household.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, costume drama, period piece, tear jerker, sad, touching, serious, depressing, sex comedy