Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren Snuggle Up, Brandon Sklenar Starts His Journey Home in 1923 Season 2 First Look (Exclusive)

All aboard! Season 2 of 1923 is finally here, and PEOPLE has the exclusive first look!

Fans of the Yellowstone prequel series will see season two follow Jacob and Cara Dutton back at Dutton ranch as a "a cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business."

"With harsh conditions and adversaries threatening to end the Dutton legacy, Spencer embarks on an arduous journey home, racing against time to save his family in Montana," the official logline continues. "Meanwhile, Alexandra sets off on her own harrowing trans-Atlantic journey to find Spencer and reclaim their love."

1923 stars Harrison Ford as Jacob, an ancestor of the character Kevin Costner played in the present-day series. With wife Cara (Helen Mirren) by his side, the series follows the Duttons as they navigate the hardships of the era, including Western Expansion, Prohibition and the Great Depression.

In addition to Ford and Mirren, season two will see the return of Brandon Sklenar, Michelle Randolph, Jerome Flynn, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer, Brian Geraghty, Timothy Dalton, Sebastian Roché, Robert Patrick, Darren Mann and Isabel May.

Sklenar, who plays Spencer Dutton, tells PEOPLE about his experience working alongside Ford and Mirren and the unspoken guidance he received from them both.

"I wouldn't say that it's necessarily advice that they gave me but more of an observation, and for me, I think one of the large contributing factors to their staying power and their ability to maintain such incredible careers over such a long time is largely due in part to who they are as human beings," Sklenar says.

"To see people at their level and to be able to maintain such a deep level of humility and humanity and kindness is something that I'll take with me forever because they are both just really special human beings and I think that that's reflective in their work and how they're revered by audiences and have been revered for so many years."

Getting back on-set and into character was a thrill for Sklenar, 34, he says. "Knowing where the show was going and being excited to shoot those pages, and really just being excited to shoot this entire season, was such a great feeling for me."

"Knowing that I was going to get to do what the little kid in me, the actor in me — I was over the moon," he continues.

"It's the most fun I've had as an actor in my life — shooting this season — and I cannot wait for people to see it. I know they'll love it."

Sklenar has previously teased that the season 2 finale is "one of the best things I've read in my life," as he told Forbes in August, "I can confidently say that it’s going to be absolutely incredible."

"I’ve kind of known how it was going to end since day one — Taylor [Sheridan] kind of told me. I knew the full arc of Spencer from day one, so in shooting part one, you're mindful of where he needs to go. I’m really excited."

As for the season's overall storyline, the It Ends With Us star told the outlet, "The tone shifts a lot and it’s definitely a bit darker. It’s very beautiful," he continued, before sharing that he will get "plenty of Helen and Harrison time, and it’s going to be special."

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1923 can be streamed on Paramount+. Additionally, the Paramount Network will host a special linear airing of 1923’s first season beginning Sunday, Dec. 8, immediately following a new episode of Yellowstone.