Little People, Big World Canceled – Are the Roloffs Ready to Move On or Hiding Bigger Plans?
A source said the show's end was 'a long time coming'
LITTLE People, Big World has been canceled after 25 seasons and family members feel it will never come back, a source exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
The TLC show, which first aired in March 2006, chronicled the struggles and successes of the Roloff family.
Fans saw the family thrive during pumpkin season at their large farm in Oregon and how the dynamics changed after Matt and Amy Roloff divorced in 2016.
Back in May, Matt, 62, told Entertainment Tonight that he was yet to receive a call from network executives about the fate of the show after the season finale aired on April 25.
The family patriarch said he was still open to filming but also felt the show had ended on a good note.
Six months on, a source has now told The U.S. Sun that the show is canceled, and the network has no plans to film in the future.
The source claimed Matt was the last person still eager to film, as the members picked up huge paychecks. But his wife-to-be, Caryn Chandler, was ready for it to end.
The insider said: “Little People is done. They were going to end the show before doing the weddings, it’s been a long time coming.”
“It doesn’t really have anything to do with the cast members. But many had been ready for it to be over and aren’t too sad it’s come to an end.
“Matt has this workaholic don’t stop attitude and couldn’t stop himself from doing more seasons, but Caryn is mostly happy it’s now done.
“They’re sad they will not be getting paid again, but they enjoyed their time on the show and they are ready to retire soon.
“They are excited for a much-needed rest.”
Inside Little People star Matt Roloff’s completed dream home featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and massive fireplace
ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
“Matt and Caryn are currently spending the next month or two at their Arizona home away from the cold Oregon weather celebrating the end of pumpkin season.
“They would like to do a surprise season focusing on the wedding one day or something else, but nothing is planned at all.
“It’s likely it will never come back. They stopped filming a year ago and everyone feels it’s done.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to TLC for comment.
Little People, Big World Family
Matt and Amy Roloff share four kids and seven grandkids
- Matt and Amy, who divorced in 2016, share four kids: Zachary, Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob
- Zach is married to Tori, and the two share three kids: Jackson, Lilah, and Josiah
- Jeremy is married to Audrey and they share four kids: Ember, Bode, Radley, and Mirabella
- Molly is married to Joel Silvius the two do not have any children
- Jacob is married to Isabel and they share one child, Mateo
Matt, who began the show with ex-wife Amy Roloff, previously said after 400 episodes of the show the family felt like they’d “done it all”.
“I feel very secure in what we’ve put on air — so the idea of not doing any more TV at all sounds fine by me,” he explained.
Reflecting on the opportunity as his children and grandchildren grew up onscreen, he went on, “I’m just thinking about what a journey.
“Our family, we love each other… there’s been ups and downs as you can imagine but I think — all in all — I think we’ve accomplished some good things.”
He continued, “Amy got the chance to climb Mt. Saint Helen, we got a chance to take the family to Australia. Steph got to ride camels. You know, stuff we might not have done.”
“I don’t know what my life would have been without this show,” Matt added.
The show has documented much family drama over the past two decades, with his son Jacob quitting years ago, while Audrey and Jeremy also stopped filming.
Most recently, Matt’s son Zach and wife Tori also exited the program after the fallout over the sale of Roloff Farms, when the deal with his father fell through.
Zach’s relationship with his father is still said to be rocky, and he moved to Washington in 2021 with the couple’s children – Jackson, 6, Lilah, 4, and Josiah, two.
In the final episode, Zach said of his dad, “That ship’s all sailed. There’s not much of a relationship. It’s just doing our own thing. Time might even it out, but everything will be healed, it’ll just be different.”
Tori also revealed after season 25 she and Zach would not be returning during an episode of their podcast, Raising Heights.
“We are not coming back to ‘Little People Big World,'” Tori explained on the show. “Like, we are done. That part of our lives, that chapter has closed.”
Zach also clarified: “The chapter is closed regardless of us being asked back or not. We made it pretty clear. We’re done with that chapter for multiple reasons.”
“This last cycle was rough. Between the family and the farm deal, we were done with it.”
Tori said it was no longer a project that they believed in and the past year of filming was hard for them to show up every day.
“It has gotten to this point where our oldest, Jackson, has voiced his opinion on things that he doesn’t want to be a part of with the filming of the show,” she also explained.
“There have been certain things that he has asked not to share, and I think that as a parent, we’ve really taken that to heart of having to stand back and look at the whole picture. I think that was a huge reason for us stepping away.”
Meanwhile, it would be tough for the show to be filmed on the farm which is now often run by Matt’s son Jacob, who quit the show back in 2016.
Four years later, he stunned fans by relieving in a heart-wrenching Instagram post that he was abused by Chris Cardamone, a former producer on Little People, Big World.
Chris served as a senior producer on the TLC program for 134 episodes between 2007 and 2010.
Jacob was between the ages of 10 to 13 years old when he worked on the show.
He wrote in his post, “By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly.”
Jacob also explained: “There is no inherent causal connection between reality television production and childhood trauma.
“We are still sprinting ahead with the enterprise deaf, dumb, and blind, asking for forgiveness later, instead of asking harder preliminary questions of ourselves.
“The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated.”
The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed that during his time on the Oregon-based show, Chris was arrested on October 20, 2008, in Santa Clara, California for child sex crimes.
It is unclear if the victim in the case is Jacob.
On May 26, 2009, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The following December, Chris accepted a plea deal and was convicted of cruelty to child with possible injury or death, while the other charges were dismissed, the court papers claim.
He was sentenced to 73 days in jail and four years of supervised probation.
Chris was to complete substance abuse counseling, maintain full-time employment, submit to a property/person search, and submit to chemical testing, according to court docs.
Chris could not be reached for comment and has never spoken about Jacob’s claims.
The youngest member of the Roloff family – who is married to wife Isabel Rock – made it clear that his parents, Matt and Amy, were not to blame for his alleged abuse.
He said, “It must be finally emphasized that all fault lies with the predator and no fault lies with any of my family members.
“I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.”
TLC commented on the alleged abuse in a statement to Us Weekly that read, “TLC was just informed about an alleged encounter that occurred years ago involving a third party connected to the production of Little People, Big World.
“We are saddened and troubled by this very serious allegation, and TLC will work cooperatively with the authorities. Our main focus remains on supporting the Roloff family during this very difficult time.”
