Who Plays Nellie Oleson in Little House on the Prairie? Meet the Season 2 New Cast Members - Netflix Tudum

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    Nellie Oleson Is Bringing the Side-Eye to Little House on the Prairie Season 2

    Willa Dunn joins the cast as Laura’s fiercest rival, alongside Rachelle Lefevre and Charlotte Sullivan.

    By Brookie McIlvaine
    June 2, 2026

With Season 2 of Little House on the Prairie currently in the works, meet the newcomers who will be joining the Ingalls family: Willa Dunn will take on the role of legendary troublemaker Nellie Oleson, Laura’s (Alice Halsey) most formidable foe. Rachelle Lefevre (North by North, Liz Here Now) will play Eva Beadle, the local schoolteacher, and Charlotte Sullivan (Law & Order: Organized Crime, FBI) will play Margaret Oleson, Nellie’s mother.

Woman with short blonde hair in a black camisole, standing against a plain white background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression, soft lighting, minimalistic setting.

Charlotte Sullivan

PHOTO BY VANESSA HEINS

On the surface, Nellie is a world-class spoiled princess and playground bully. Smart and supremely confident, sharp-tongued but easily wounded, Nellie is full of contradictions. One thing is certain: She lives and breathes to make Laura miserable. Yet beneath her mean-girl persona lies a tenderness and yearning for true friendship — even if she doesn’t know exactly how to get it. She’s played by Dunn, who is known for turns in Poker Face, Coup!, Inside Amy Schumer, and Only Murders in the Building, in which she plays Little Loretta (Meryl Streep’s character). 

Woman with wavy red hair and blue eyes wearing a black top, gold earrings, and natural makeup, posing against a soft pink background in a studio portrait with even lighting.

Rachelle Lefevre

PHOTO BY WILL LURIE

Meanwhile, Mary and Laura immediately adore the town’s schoolteacher, Eva Beadle, who is open-minded, passionate, forthright, brave, well-educated, well-read, adventurous, generous of spirit, and a world-traveler.

Lastly, Nellie’s mom, Margaret, is beautiful, high-energy, charming, and unfiltered with a quick wit and a tendency toward gallows humor. She adores her daughter fiercely and completely, but also fears losing her love.

Before Nellie, Margaret, and Eva join Season 2, Season 1 of Little House on the Prairie takes Laura, Ma (Crosby Fitzgerald), Pa (Luke Bracey), and Mary (Skywalker Hughes) from their cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin to a small community on the expansive prairie in search of a new start. Learn more about the Ingalls’ experience in Independence, Kansas, in the new teaser.

Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys, Vampire Diaries, Archive 81) helms the new take on the American classic, with Season 1 due on Netflix July 9. Little House on the Prairie has already been renewed for Season 2. Sonnenshine also showruns and executive produces. Also executive producing are Joy Gorman Wettels for Joy Coalition, Trip Friendly for Friendly Family Productions, and Dana Fox.

Since its original publication in the 1930s, the Little House book series and brand have remained a constant in the global zeitgeist. The classic novels have sold over 73 million copies in more than 100 countries, and have been translated into at least 27 languages. Most recently, 50 years after the 1974 show debuted, Nielsen reports that fans of all generations have embraced the nostalgic series, which garnered an astonishing 13.25 billion minutes of viewing in 2024 alone.

Stay tuned to Tudum for more updates on Little House on the Prairie Season 2.

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