Long before Paris Hilton adopted “the simple life”, the Ingalls family kept us entertained with back-breaking manual labour and constant financial worry in TV series The Little House On The Prairie.

Now the show, which ran from 1974-1983, is being developed into a big screen version by Paramount after the project was dropped by Sony.

Melissa Gilbert Little House on the PrairieMelissa Gilbert played the child Laura Ingalls Wilder in the TV show (REED SAXON/AP/PA)

 

Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s tales of her upbringing in rural Minnesota, the family favourite was canned by Sony over worries about its $45 million budget when the hacking scandal caused changes in top management.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it will now be helmed by Martha Marcy May Marlene director Sean Durkin and written by Abi Morgan, who most recently penned Suffragette.

Her previous credits include The Iron Lady and Shame.

It’s unknown which cast might take up home on the pioneer farmstead, with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert playing father and daughter in the wholesome original.

Notable cameos included Johnny and June Cash, James Cromwell and Sean Penn.