“1923” Cast Teases 'Multiple Shocks' in 'Intense' Season 2 That's Worth the 2-Year Wait: 'Fans Will Go Berserk' (Exclusive)

It's been a long two years since the premiere of 1923, but it's going to be worth it.

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal a closer look at what's to come in the long-awaited second season in a new featurette, which kicks off with Helen Mirren, herself, acknowledging just how torturous the wait has been for fans.

"It took a long time to get here, you know. It's been 2 years," Mirren, 79, says as she sits beside her onscreen husband, Harrison Ford, inside the Yellowstone ranch on set.

Julia Schlaepfer, who plays Alexandra, is equally eager to be back in the swing of things, as she says it "feels so incredible to be back" on set — and teases a "very, very emotional" season to come. "Taylor [Sheridan] sent me the scripts and I was weeping."

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

It's a sentiment that her on-screen love, Brandon Sklenar (Spencer Dutton), echoes. "He really brought it with his writing," Sklenar, 34, says of Sheridan. "He always does, but this just feels like a whole other level."

"It's a treasure for an actor to read this kind of stuff," Ford, 82, also agrees.

The atmosphere on set is "like magic," Aminah Nieves (Teonna Rainwater) says, and it's both like a "family reunion" and a "masterclass" to be surrounded by her costars again.

Mirren (Cara Dutton) credits the show's "extraordinary crew," too, for the magic of the show, while Darren Mann (Jack Dutton) says, "I have never seen anything like it. Everything about it is just so authentic."

Related: Brandon Sklenar Says the Season 2 Finale of 1923 Is 'One of the Best Things I've Read in My Life'

Teasing what's to come this season, Sebastian Roché (Father Renaud) says fans are "in for multiple shocks this season."

"It's very romantic, adventurous, exciting. There's a real journey – for all the characters. It's about the physical journey, but also the emotional, psychological journey. The fans will go berserk for it."

The Dutton's are "under tremendous threat at home," as Ford says, Mirren shares that season 2 features a "particularly awful winter" that pushes the family to the "edge" — literally.

Sklenar adds that they're tasked with surviving "the elements, being able to keep up and feed themselves and keep everything moving," as Mann sums it up: "It's just the reality of this world and trying to survive."

"There's a storm a-coming and we know it," Ford says. "There's nature and mankind. And if nature won't get ya..."

"Mankind will," Mirren says, finishing her costar's sentence.

Jacob and Cara's fight to "save the ranch" is "not just for them," Mirren continues. "It's for future generations" — and there's "a long way to go" still, Ford notes.

Related: 1923 Season 2: All About the Yellowstone Spinoff Starring Harrison Ford

Season 2 will be an "intense ride," in Mann's words, but the cast is confident that "people are gonna love it."

"It's every exciting to be a part of a family like this and a legacy like this," Schlaepfer, 29, says, and Sklenar adds, "This is really special."

Michelle Randolph (Margaret Dutton) closes out the featurette with yet another endorsement of what's to come. "I know how torturous it was to not be able to know what happened for so long," she says. "But it's worth the wait."

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1923 season 2 premieres Feb. 23 on Paramount+, where season 1 can be streamed in full.

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