Up at the Star Trek: The Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, New York this weekend, the officially-licensed classic Enterprise reproduction we last visited in 2017, a mini-convention of sorts took place with two generations of Trek leaders: William Shatner (Kirk) and Anson Mount (Discovery’s Pike) lead “Christmas with the Captains” for a group of die-hard fans.

While Shatner served as headliner, displaying his usual gregarious and engaging personality for attendees, it was franchise newcomer Anson Mount who made the biggest splash, sharing a few tidbits about what we can expect from Star Trek Discovery’s soon-to-arrive second season — and in honor of his attendance, the Set Tour team even updated some of their display pieces to represent the Christopher Pike-era of command.

The biggest news? Mount revealed that Discovery Season 2 has been extended from its original 13-episode order by one hour, bringing the episode count for 2019 to a total of 14 entries, which will stretch production up in Toronto through December 21 — and Captain Pike will be involved through the end, as Mount expects to be working right up to the holiday weekend. (Last season was also extended during production, from an original 13 to 15-episode order.)

“This is the biggest production I have ever been a part of,” said Mount to the crowd during his on-stage appearance at the local Ticonderoga High School, where the Set Tour team hosts its guest panels. “It’s huge.” Speaking of his experience this season, Mount admitted that a lot of “really surreal moments” happen when one becomes a part of a Star Trek cast. “Sitting in the captain’s chair,” he reminisced, “was strangely emotional.” The actor also told fans that he had actually first been connected with Discovery when he was in the running to play Gabriel Lorca — a role which eventually went to Jason Isaacs — but the producers kept him in mind and he was approached by the series to take on the role of Pike.

Mount, who noted he was only under contract for Discovery Season 2, went on to say that he believes the relationship between his Christopher Pike, who takes command of the USS Discovery during the second season, and series lead Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) will be the core relationship examined during 2019’s run of the series.

While the highlight of the weekend’s events took place on the pristine recreation of the 1960s-era USS Enterprise, Mount was less than forthcoming about if we’ll see the bridge of the 2019-era Enterprise that his character commands, indicating that maybe we will… or maybe we won’t. (Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what January brings us!)

In a more intimate gathering with fans on the Set Tour itself, Mount said that by far his biggest geekiest moment was meeting Star Trek actor — turned frequent TV director — Jonathan Frakes, who is helming two episodes of Discovery‘s second season.

Mount also said that he had been asking around about the new Picard show, coming from CBS late next year. While he was careful not to share any details about what he knew, he colorfully described it as a “brilliant idea… [fans will] be really pleased at how smart the concept is.”

Not to outdone by Star Trek’s newest captain, the biggest buzz earlier in the day was around franchise legend William Shatner, who cracked open several bottles of the new Silver Screen Bottling Company’s “James T. Kirk Bourbon” with fans at a bar the night before, following his personally-led tour of the Original Series sets for those who splurged on the true VIP experience.

The Star Trek: The Original Series Set Tour has successfully held a number of these smaller events in the last couple of years, including its annual Trekonderoga convention which takes place every August — and Tour owner and operator James Cawley indicated more was in store for 2019, including an additional appearance by Shatner, as well as one more guest from the newest lineup of TOS-era character performers: Ethan Peck, who takes over the role of Spock in Star Trek: Discovery Season 2.

We’ll certainly keep watch for those events and when officially announced, we’ll let you know all the details of how you can attend. In the meantime, what do you think of this extension of Discovery’s second year? Sound off in the comments below!