Little People, Big World.
Huge news.
We have had no official word yet from TLC, and there are some understandable obstacles in the way as a result of the novel coronavirus. However:
WHowever, we can now confirm that the network mainstay Little People, Big World is, indeed, coming back for a new season.
Actually, we aren't the ones confirming this development.
This isn't just celebrity gossip site speculation: Amy Roloff and Matt Roloff are the ones who have confirmed it.
The parents of four and lead stars of this long-running reality show have both made remarks on Instagram.
The exes have revealed that the series has actually starting shooting again already.
The pair took turns making sure that their fans knew what was up.
First, Matt came and and subtly made this admission.
He recently went out to dinner (and drew some criticism for not wearing a mask) with girlfriend Caryn Chandler and another couple.
He opened a caption to a photo from the double date as follows:
Yesterday.. after wrapping up filming and farm chores for the week..
@carynchandler1 and I decided to break away and headed west for the 90 min drive to the small beach town — Manzinita!
We didn't even catch that ourselves the first time around, but you saw it, right?
AFTER WRAPPING UP FILMING...
Amy, for her part, made a similar comment this week during an Instagram Live session.
“Yesterday was the first day that we were able to film anything,” she told, prior to going in a different direction and adding:
“Like everyone else who is struggling, like, where’s the next paycheck gonna be, and wondering if they have a job, and all of that stuff," she reflected.
Amy continued: "there’s parts of me that wonder, ‘OK, are we going back to filming? Like, what does that look like?"
Amy confessed to wondering: "Are we only doing a few episodes and then it’s over?’
She continued: "But yeah, yesterday was the first day that we were able to film.”
Roloff, of course, is referring here to the fallout from COVID-19.
Due to this pandemic, there's no way of knowing when Little People, Big World will return or what it will look like.
Other reality shows, such as The Bachelorette, are gonna try some sort of quarantine/isolation-based season that won't be like any other in history.
The Roloffs, we'd imagine, can be filmed almost individually, at least in terms of each household.
That way, they can continue to flm without really going anywhere or interacting with people outside of the family.
Even under non-virus conditions, this is a mostly self-contained program that films almost exclusively on the farm or inside of Tori and Zach's house.
The biggest worry will be production crews themselves, but we have no doubts that they will take many precautions.
As for the main storylines we'd anticipate for Season 21?
Amy is planning a wedding to Chris Marek.
Matt is considering a full-time move to Arizona.
And Tori and Zach are now raising two kids, having welcomed daughter Lilah in November 2019.
The main questions fans are asking at the moment, however, still centers around this pandemic - specifically the affect it could have on the family business.
Could Roloff Farms go out of business?
With large gatherings forbidden in many states and with potential customers afraid to go out and visit any sort of retail establishment?
It's a scary thought.
Whether they hope to visit the grounds themselves or simply enjoy the family's pumpkin salsa, it's a real threat to a small business.
This does now seem like a possibility, which then prompts us to wonder if Little People, Big World could go on without the farm.
Not every show can pull what Alaskan Bush People did by relocating to Colorado without changing the show's name, right?
Then again, the cast members are public figures in their own right, and their lives have all changed greatly in recent years.
Shuttering the farm and everyone moving on would be sad, in a sense, but also the next chapter of their very real lives.