‘SmartLess’ Podcast From Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes & Will Arnett Signs With CAA

EXCLUSIVE: SmartLess, the podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, has signed with CAA.

The trio launched the series last July and have produced nearly 50 episodes. Each episode, one of the hosts introduces a mystery guest to the other two. Guests have included Vice President Kamala Harris, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Ricky Gervais, Bryan Cranston, Paul McCartney, Tina Fey, Awkwafina, W. Kamau Bell, Stacey Abrams, Billie Eilish and Megan Rapinoe.

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A slew of late-night hosts such as Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien have also appeared as well as Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

The logline of the show is one “that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity.” However, it’s essentially just a chat between the three friends and a guest, sometimes a pal, sometimes not.

“We wanted to talk,” said Bateman in a recent episode. “We don’t have any format, there’s no preamble,” added Arnett. “There’s no theme, there’s no goal. I’ve been winging it since 1970, why would I start now,” he joked.

The agency will help the series with distribution, advertising and touring opportunities.

While the show often deals in industry inside baseball, the trio are also keen to make sure they don’t alienate any listeners, and often joke about appealing to Sean Hayes’ sister in Wisconsin.

“If we do this tour that we’ve talked about so many times, if we ever do a tour, we have to go to Wisconsin,” Arnett said in another recent episode.

“What would be the other cities? If we get the five most requests, we’ll come to your city,” asked Bateman. “You need to let us know you want us first because we’re really insecure instead of us assuming us you want us.”

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