Jocko Sims

Jocko Sims is an American actor who plays the real-life inspired Dr. George Tann in Netflix's 2026 Little House on the Prairie.

Biography

After long television runs on The Last Ship and New Amsterdam, Jocko Sims returned to an on-screen medical role as frontier physician George Tann.

Known for

New Amsterdam

He played cardiothoracic surgeon Floyd Reynolds from 2018 through 2022.[3][4]

The Last Ship

He played Carlton Burk across the action drama's run.[4]

Little House on the Prairie

He plays Dr. George Tann in the 2026 Netflix adaptation.[1]

Career highlights

  1. Crash Start

    Crash brought his first regular breakthrough

    Sims played aspiring musician Anthony Adams in the television drama Crash before a run of larger ensemble roles.[4]

  2. Last Ship

    The Last Ship expanded his action work

    He played Carlton Burk, moving from a recurring first-season character to the main cast.[4]

  3. New Amsterdam

    New Amsterdam made him a familiar television doctor

    As Floyd Reynolds, Sims played a surgeon whose patient-first decisions led to leadership of the cardiac department.[3][4]

  4. Tann Research

    He researched the real George Tann

    Sims studied period medicine, read Frederick Douglass and considered the Civil War experience that would have shaped the physician.[1][2]

  5. Little House

    He plays Dr. Tann in Little House on the Prairie

    Netflix released all eight episodes on July 9, 2026 and describes Tann as a generous connector in Independence.[1][6]

Good to know

His reported birthday is February 20, 1981

TV Insider and TVMaze agree on the date, while current cast coverage supports age 45.[4][5]

George Tann was a real physician

The real doctor treated the Ingalls family during their malaria illness near Independence.[1][7]