Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes on 25-year friendship: 'I'm my best self with them'

What it’s like hanging out with three of TV’s funniest guys?

Look no further than “SmartLess: On the Road,” a six-episode docuseries (now streaming on Max) featuring Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”), Will Arnett and Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”). The project follows the trio on tour for a series of live shows in support of “SmartLess,” the star-studded podcast they started in 2020. Cameras capture the longtime friends as they riff about toilet trips, counting calories and dramatic departures such as Bateman’s Netflix series, “Ozark.”

But there are also more emotional conversations in the documentary, as Bateman, 54, and Arnett, 53, talk about their respective journeys with sobriety. Hayes, 52, also discusses his experience coming out as gay and growing up in a single-parent home after his dad walked out.

They talk to USA TODAY about the podcast, friendship and more:

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Jason Bateman, left, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes in "SmartLess: On the Road."

Question: It’s been 25 years since you met. What were your first impressions?

Will Arnett: I think they were impressed by me. At first glance, they were both like, “Whoa!”

Jason Bateman: “There are starving cameras all over the world. How do we get him in front of them?”

Arnett: Truth be told, the moment I met both these guys, I felt an affinity for them. We laughed and got along really well, instantaneously.

You all used to play poker with Jack Black. What were those games like?

Arnett: I brought Sean, and I remember his first night. If you’ve ever gambled with Sean, it’s crazy.

Sean Hayes: I showed up with briefcases. I didn’t really know how to play.

Arnett: From the first hand, he’s just like, “I’m all in.” He won big the first night, and then at 10:30 p.m., he was like, “Alright, bye guys. I’m gonna take off; I’m tired.” And he already had everybody’s money. Everyone was just like, “No, no, no. You don’t just come take all the money and leave.”

You just released your 150^th episode of the “SmartLess” podcast. How has it evolved since its inception?

Hayes: One of the greatest things is that it hasn’t evolved at all. But that’s the secret sauce, right?

Arnett: We’ve learned very little! We don’t really overthink it too much. The way we record each episode is that only one person knows the guest, so there’s no prep. And we’ve kept that loose approach in the way we look at the podcast itself. We joke about being bad interviewers. At no point do we go, “How could we get better?”

You’ve had some very impressive guests like President Joe Biden and Steven Spielberg. Who’s still on your bucket list?

Bateman: The best interviewer in the world currently is Howard Stern. We’ve all had a chance to meet him socially, but it’s another thing to get him on a talk show. He just rarely, rarely does it, unless you’re David Letterman. So that would be a white whale, probably.

The three of you get very candid with each other in this docuseries. Did going on tour bring you closer?

Bateman: I think that’s always there. We love each other so much. I feel like I’m my best self when I’m with them. I’m more parts of myself than I am with most people, aside from my family. I don’t have to be in a certain mood to want to hang out with them. So the opportunity to talk openly and honestly – and not comedically – we don’t even really have to think about it.

Hayes: We’re also at an age where I’m like, “This is how I feel. I’m mad. I’m happy. This upsets me. That’s hilarious.” Or whatever! I’m too tired and old to edit with these guys.

Will, there’s a moment in this series where your son, Archie (14), tries to act “cool” around you and his friend. Are your kids impressed by any of your projects?

Arnett: No, not one. When they were little, certainly, the kids loved all the “Lego” movies. There’s that thing where you want your kids to be like, “Oh, my God, what you did was so cool!” But the truth is, we’re just their parents, like everybody else’s parents. When I came home, I wasn’t really interested in what my dad was doing.

Hayes: I was! (Laughs.)

Bateman: Aw, Sean. Just wondering which state he’s driving through at the time.

Hayes: Or his address.

Sean, congratulations on your Tony Award nomination for “Good Night Oscar.” (He plays pianist Oscar Levant.)

Arnett: He just won the Outer Critics Circle Award (for outstanding lead performer in a Broadway play).

Hayes: Thank you. The whole country is talking about it.

Arnett: Which country?

Hayes: No, more than the nomination, the greatest gift was having these guys and a bunch of my other friends there (on opening night). It meant the world to me on such a deep level.

Bateman: It was incredible for us to see him do his thing. It’s a total transformation that he pulls off. Will and I were bawling.