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By India McCarty
Netflix’s LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE blended fact and fiction to create their version of Dr. George Tann.
“He’s the first person to meet the Ingalls, and he’s the last one to say goodbye,” showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine told The Hollywood Reporter of the character, a local doctor in their new frontier community.
She continued, “He gives Charles some tough love and says, ‘You’ve got to make a community here because you can’t do it on your own. That’s a myth.’ Charles takes that to heart because he trusts this person.”
“It’s the idea of community,” Sonnenshine said. “Maybe you’re not used to reaching out to different people, but the frontier is a new place where you’re going to be in contact with people that you haven’t met before and whose cultures you’ve never experienced, and you’re going to have to come together out here. That is the story of how we succeed.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder immortalized the real-life Tann in her books (where he’s referred to as Dr. Tan) — he was the doctor who saved her family after they contracted malaria.
Related: Why This Star Fell in Love with His LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Role
“We’ve taken many things and then expanded upon them,” Sonnenshine shared, explaining that the new show will blend information from Wilder’s books, as well as real information about Dr. Tann’s history.
Born to a freed family around 1835, Tann served in the Union army before becoming a physician in Kansas, where he met the Ingalls family. He was well known for treating anyone in need, regardless of race, and even opened a hospital with money reportedly earned from mineral rights on land Tann purchased.
When it came time to cast the doctor, Sonnenshine was looking for someone with “presence” who people “responded” to; she found that in Jocko Sims.
Sims has plenty of experience playing a doctor, with previous credits on THE RESIDENT and NEW AMSTERDAM, but joining the cast of LITTLE HOUSE meant taking a crash course in frontier life, including the proper way to reattach someone’s shoulder.
“I was preparing the wrong way, and [the stunt department was] like, ‘They didn’t know that way. It was a lot rougher,’” the actor shared.
Sims continued, “I’m still learning things about him. He was adored. He was immersed in Native American cultures, speaking different languages while taking care of people. I would welcome the opportunity to get to know him even more and spend more time digging and talking to historians.”
The actor previously spoke to Movieguide® about taking on the role of Dr. Tann, sharing, “I didn’t know about the books. I didn’t know it was based on a true story. And full transparency, it wasn’t until after I got the role — that I loved on paper — that I learned that Dr. George Tann was a real person, that he was a real Black doctor in the 1800s who was a pioneer, a neighbor and friend to the Ingalls family.”
LITTLE HOUSE fans will get to see more of Sims’ story, as the show has already been picked up for a second season.
“I’m incredibly grateful to our wonderful cast and crew, who put their hearts and hard work into making our first season come alive,” Sonnenshine told Tudum. “We can’t wait to share this new adaptation of the Little House books with the world, and we’re thrilled that Netflix is giving us the opportunity to continue the story.”
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE premieres on Netflix July 9.
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