Matt Roloff is reflecting on 25 seasons of Little People, Big World and the future of the show alongside his family members.
Sitting down with ET’s Cassie DiLaura, the 62-year-old dad of four became teary-eyed while talking about the show that changed his family’s life forever and documented life’s biggest moments for the Roloff clan, including divorces, marriages and new babies.
“I’m just thinking about what a journey,” Matt said with tears in his eyes. “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.”
The interview with the Roloff patriarch comes just under a month after the TLC show’s season 25 finale, which many have speculated could also serve as the series finale. While the original show followed Amy Roloff, 61, and Matt as a married couple with their four then-teenage children, all of the kids have now left the show. Amy and Matt also went through a contentious divorce back in 2016.
Matt says he can neither confirm nor deny if the show will be coming back, calling it the “million-dollar question” and telling ET that he isn’t even sure if executives at the network level know whether or not Little People, Big World will receive a season 26.
The show’s 25th season wrapped production late last summer and the cast members have been on hiatus since, which he says have given them time to rest and recover from nearly two decades of being filmed nonstop. If this really is the end, it’s something Matt says he’s okay with.
“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,” Matt shared. “400 episodes or something, you kind of feel like you’ve done it [all], so if there comes a circumstance where we feel like we need to share more, [if] the opportunity comes up, maybe.”
Despite what appears to be mixed feelings about the show overall, Matt says he finds it hard to look back and not feel immensely grateful for the opportunities that came from the series.
“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,” Matt shared.
He added, “I don’t know what my life would have been without this show.”
Season 25 being the show’s conclusion would not be surprising for true fans as the family has experienced a roller-coaster ride of heartbreak and happiness over the years. Most recently, Amy and Matt’s son, Zach, and his wife, Tori Roloff, exited the show amid drama in the family.
Zach’s relationship with his father is tumultuous to this day, mostly stemming from issues pertaining to the sale of the family’s farm. Since then, Zach and Tori — who are parents to children Jackson, 6, Lilah, 4, and Josiah, almost 2 — have been estranged from Matt.
In their final episode, Zach said of his relationship with 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.”
Talking with ET, Matt hinted at his hope for a reconciliation with Zach, saying that “time heals all wounds.”
As for his relationship with his ex-wife — who he called a “dictator” in one episode of season 25 — Matt says things are now good between them. It helps that after their divorce was finalized in 2016, Amy began dating and later married Chris Marek.
For his own part, Matt is currently engaged to Caryn Chandler. He says that he and Amy never imagined splitting up, but now that they have come out on the other side, they are much better for it.
“I never imagined Amy and I getting divorced,” he said. “People say, ‘Well, it’s because of the show,’ and no, that happens. People’s relationships, they evolve, and they change and I’m super, super happy for Amy having Chris. They’re a wonderful couple and we enjoy them immensely and hang out with them. We’re not besties every day but [we] certainly hang out and get together.”
Overall, Matt says he is happy with how the show ended should season 25 really be the last ride. He believes that for better or worse, his family has made an impact on the world and the community they represent.
“I think Little People, Big World has really laid out a pretty incredible legacy in terms of society’s perception of little people,” he said, adding that should they get another season, he has some ideas on the overall arc to take the show in.
“I’m super content with where it’s at right now and how we wrapped up and if it goes on more, there’s more story to tell, great,” Matt shared. “But if there’s no more story to tell, I mean TV today is very, you know, there’s a lot of channels with a lot of content.”