When was ‘SmartLess: On the Road’ filmed?

SmartLess: On the Road is the limited series we didn’t know we needed. Directed by Sam Jones, the six-part series focuses on the tour that Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes took in support of their wildly successful podcast. SmartLess: On the Road is full of hilarious moments, which is no surprise given the talent involved, but it also has surprisingly intimate ones that speak to the longstanding friendship of the three hosts.

As with any series based on a touring event, there are viewers who attended live shows and may be curious as to whether their specific show wound up making the cut. With that in mind, we are going to break down the specific dates in which SmartLess: On the Road was filmed.

The trailer for SmartLess: On the Road references specific cities, and sees Bateman, Arnett and Hayes walking around well-known monuments like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The structure of the series makes it easy to keep track of where the trio is, though, as each episode is set in a different city.

Sam Jones discussed this structure during an interview with Deadline. He revealed that Bateman was the one who approached him with the series, and the idea only snapped into place when Jones realized he could do it with a small crew.

Where was SmartLess: On the Road filmed?

“We were an embedded group the entire time,” Jones revealed. “We had three cameras, and I was one of them. It was the three of us and a sound man and a producer running around with them, flying on the same plane and riding on the same buses and staying in the same hotels. I was in their rooms more than I was in mine.”

While the exact dates are not included in SmartLess: On the Road, a cursory look at the SmartLess touring schedule for 2023 reveals when each episode was filmed by Jones. Bateman, Arnett and Hayes did multiple shows between Feb. 2-12, meaning that the bulk of the footage was captured during this ten-day window. Here’s an exact breakdown of the cities and dates, per the SmartLess Instagram account:

• February 2 – Washington, DC (Dar Constitution Hall)
• February 4 – Boston, MA (Boch Center Wang Theater)
• February 5 – Brooklyn, NY (Kings Theater)
• February 8 – Chicago, IL (The Chicago Theater)
• February 9 – Madison, WI (The Orpheum Theater)
• February 12 – Los Angeles, CA (The Orpheum Theatre)

Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago and Los Angeles had two shows a piece on their respective dates, so the footage presented on their episodes may very well be a combination. While fans everywhere will be able to listen to SmartLess episodes as they get released, Jones made a point of cutting between the shows and the antics that were going on behind-the-scenes. “It was more like we were up there on stage or in the wings,” he explained. “It’s almost like a band documentary or a brothers documentary.”

SmartLess: On the Road is now streaming on Max.