SmartLess With Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett
A-List Comedic Podcast
Fans of Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, as well as comedy fans in general, will love what these three hilarious and sometimes depraved minds have come together to create and put into your ears.
The SmartLess comedy podcast is more than just a talk show. It is a comedy experience.
Each episode features a recognizable guest who dives into a labyrinthine rabbit hole of topics with the three raucous hosts, and there is no guarantee of making it out the other end.
With all the podcasts out there, one thing that makes the show interesting is its unique format. The hosts alternate who chooses the guest every episode, and it is a complete surprise to the other two.
This creates a candid vibe, and the genuine anticipation when the identity of the guest is being teased at, plus the surprise when they are revealed, is hilariously entertaining.
Premier Guest Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard, actor, writer, director, and a podcaster himself, is the guest of the pilot episode.
He helps kick things off with a personal conversation about his partying years, his prevailing bad habits, his relapse into alcoholism, and how it has led to his current sobriety.
He relates how after appearing on the podcasts of such comedians as Sam Jones and Marc Maron, fans started calling him saying that listening to him on these episodes helped them to sober up and stay clean.
After that, he was inspired to keep doing that for more people.
He talks about his own podcast, Armchair Expert, and how long-form projects differ from TV and movies, where actors have a much smaller window to be funny before the audience’s attention has moved on.
He also talks about his love of directing, the control that comes with it, and the problem-solving that it requires.
He relates it in contrast to acting when he just wants to get through the shoot and be done.
As a director, Dax says he always wants to spend as much time on every scene as possible to squeeze the most out of it.
Dax has been focusing on podcasting lately, but that does not mean he is missing out on these other sides of production.
The ABC sitcom Bless This Mess, which Dax costarred in, recently wrapped up its second season.
Dax also recently hosted a new Fox venture game show, Spin the Wheel.
In this pilot episode, Arnett is fresh from having a baby (well, his wife had the baby, as he’s careful to clarify), thus capturing a rare moment in one hilarious actor’s life eternally in the audio ether.
Podcasting in Quarantine
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone had been looking for new ways to find joy and entertainment from the confines of their homes.
This show was just what the doctor ordered.
It is the perfect companion to put on during your daily commute, household chores, or just to fill the day with different voices to listen to while still trying to be socially distant.
Creating new podcast episodes during COVID times meant working around social distancing measures, which had noticeably impacted the end product of numerous podcasters’ work.
Since SmartLess did not get started until after the pandemic hit, the cohosts had to familiarize themselves with the unique challenges of connecting remotely.
You might forget that they are not sitting in the same room together, though.
Their rapport and chemistry let the conversation flow seamlessly, and everyone’s highly attuned to one another’s comedy stylings.
Meet the Hosts
Each of the comedic actor cohosts has their own unique “interviewing” style, but for the most part, the conversation is kept casual and entertaining.
From roasting their guests and each other, getting distracted and telling their own personal life stories, and then finally getting around to actually asking some meaningful questions, the resulting show is a lot of fun.
You will also be regaled with personal anecdotes from every person who appears on the show, definitely not just the guest supposedly being interviewed.
You might even walk away knowing more than you ever wanted to about Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett but you will have plenty of laughs along the way.
Every voice on this show is recognizable, perhaps even iconic if you ask them.
Jason Bateman is well known for his role on Arrested Development and more currently on Ozark, as well as films like Juno, Hancock, and Extract.
Will Arnett is just as easy to pick out, who famously portrayed Job on Arrested Development, as well as providing the voice of the darkly hilarious title character on Netflix’s Bojack Horseman.
Sean Hayes is a producer and beloved actor; his most iconic role probably has to be Jack McFarland on the hit sitcom Will & Grace, which spent 11 seasons as one of NBC’s star shows.
These guys have so many projects on their resumes between them that every story they tell is full of inside information and behind-the-scenes stories from some pretty A-list projects.
And you would never guess that these men are all 50, with the exception of Bateman being the “old man” of the bunch at 51, with how fun-loving and full of life their personalities are.
Their energy and fun-loving spirits are conveyed through the SmartLess podcast by their voices alone.
They have known each other for a long time, about 20 years, and it shows.
This comedy podcast is the result of them sitting down and thinking about what they could do together, or, one might say, how they could monetize their time hanging out.
Other Guests
SmartLess has welcomed so many memorable guests that Hayes had already started to forget them in an interview on TODAY late last July.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson, one of the world’s pioneering “pop” astrophysicists, shows up to break down the workings of the cosmos in his signature way for everyday people to understand.
Then there is the celebrated maestro and conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, who also currently serves as their Music & Artistic Director.
Jimmy Kimmel, who gets a chance to step out of the host role and be a guest instead.
The great Robert Downey Jr. brings tales from the different chapters of his life, and M&Ms.
The always hilarious Maya Rudolph guests in an epic episode that is not only full of stories, it is also educational – and musical.
You will love hearing these guys hang out with some of their friends, who just happen to be famous and outstanding in each of their respective fields as well.
Everyone has their own interesting, revealing, and occasionally shocking stories that they are more than willing to share.
The casual and conversational nature of the show makes the listener feel like they are right there hanging out with them, so be prepared just in case they end up gleefully picking on you too.
Amazon Acquires SmartLess
Congrats to the entire team at SmartLess for the major recent news of Amazon having acquired the podcast for a deal being reported between $60 million to $80 million.
Amazon had previously acquired the major podcast studio outfit Wondery.
Wondery is known for its expansive true crime and investigative style of podcasts.
Amazon is now adding the A-list, interview-driven format of SmartLess alongside the acclaimed Wondery catalog.
SmartLess Tour
So what do you do when you get acquired for upwards of $80 million?
You go on tour. That is right.
The boys from SmartLess will be doing a limited series tour starting in early 2022.
They are promising special guests to be joining Jason, Will, and Sean at each spot of the special live experience.
SmartLess Community
SmartLess is a comedic podcast with a thriving group of listeners.
There is also plenty of bonus content to explore, like videos that accompany some episodes, that can be found on their official YouTube Page.
The name of the show, SmartLess, comes from the desire of the co-hosts to learn new things and to present them in a way so their audience can learn as well.
The result could not be more engaging and entertaining.
New episodes drop every Monday, so you will have a consistent dosage of comedy and SmartLessness when you subscribe and join in on the fun too.