Another New ‘Little Women’ is Coming, Whether We Want It or Not

The ladies of the most recent PBS Masterpiece adaptation of "Little Women" (Photo: Credit: Courtesy of MASTERPIECE on PBS, BBC, and Playground​)

Some stories are just universally loved, no matter how old they are. It doesn’t matter if we’ve seen feature film or television adaptations of them multiple times. Because people will make them again. And, like as not, we’ll all watch them again. And again.

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women is apparently one of those stories. Which makes sense. It’s a universal coming-of-age story that speaks to women everywhere. That’s why there have been so many versions of it made over the years.

Which is, of course, why there’s about to be another one.

Yes, really. Despite the fact that a brand new Masterpiece adaptation of Little Women aired earlier in 2018, a new feature film version is also headed our way very soon. Why, I'm not entirely sure. The BBC/Masterpice version landed to generally mixed reviews - some folks loved it, some didn't. But it certainly wasn't such a smash that it necessitated a run on the property either. 

Plus side, however: It’ll be directed by recent Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig, who helmed Best Picture candidate Lady Bird. This latest Little Women will also feature a ridiculously all-star cast, with everyone from perennial Oscar royalty Meryl Streep to 2018 nominees Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet and 2017 Best Actress winner Emma Stone taking part.

Basically, this movie is tailor-made to rack up awards next year. And maybe we don’t technically need another version of this story when so many already exist. But it’s hard to imagine this movie being anything other than incredible, so maybe it’s okay to be greedy, just this once?

Gerwig was originally supposed to just write this particular adaptation, but after Lady Bird’s widespread success last year, Sony decided to just have her help the whole thing. It makes sense. After all Little Women is also a story of a headstrong young girl who isn’t satisfied with the status quo.

What do you think of this? Is it too soon for another take on the Alcott classic? Or can you just not get enough of the March sisters? How did you feel about the latest Masterpiece version? Let’s discuss in the comments.  


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

More to Love from Telly Visions