Fourteen seasons in and the cast of Little People, Big World is still shocked about starring on a TV show. “I was thinking we’d be lucky to get past season 2,” Amy Roloff tells Us Weekly exclusively. “I think we’ve been on TV for 16 years! It’s been a long time, and I’m very thankful, though, that our show has lasted the longevity, and I think we’re, like, family in someone else’s living room!”
Matt Roloff added that, at first, TLC asked them to film a documentary, which later became a pilot. That led to the first season. As for why it’s lasted so long, the father of four has a theory: Their show is Compromise TV.
“Compromise TV to me, that definition in my mind, basically means male, female, there’s something for everybody – any age groups, grandpas, grandmas, young kids,” Matt, 57, says. “Everybody has got something. Whether it’s the relationship between Amy and I, or the babies, or the marriages, or the bulldozers and Track Hoes, we’ve got the big farm that has the beautiful backdrop.”
Amy, 54, agrees that that’s part of why the show works, but also feels it’s because of how honest they are.
“For the most part, we keep it real. My kids are real. They’re grounded. I don’t think, for the most part, we haven’t got our heads into a different space just because we have the opportunity to share a story,” she told Us. “Granted, here we’re filming three hours and then take the one moment that people will say, ‘Oh, it’s scripted.’ I say, ‘No, it didn’t feel like the three hours that I was in.’ I like to think that we’re pretty honest, we’re pretty real – at least I am – sometimes to a fault.”
For more from the couple, watch our exclusive video above. Little People, Big World airs on TLC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Carly Sloane