It’s still early — with 40 episodes and counting — but so far The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has lived up to at least some of its initial promise of mixing up the late-night scene.

Gone is the wacky, ultra-conservative persona of The Colbert Report, who graced Comedy Central for 10 seasons. In its stead, we have the "real" Stephen Colbert, something that’s been a rare commodity in years past. And Colbert is aware of the fact that the public and the media are not entirely attuned to what he’s like outside of The Colbert Report's conservative caricature.

What we’ve seen on the new Late Show so far is an animated host who falls somewhere between a zany, sitcom-style dad and an intuitive interviewer who isn’t afraid to steer the conversation into more serious, straightforward, and sincere territory when the opportunity presents itself.

However, what’s really helped the Late Show stand apart from its crowded competition is a consistent mix of distinctive guests, several of whom have never appeared on late-night television before.

Even more impressive is the diversity of guests Colbert’s team has selected. In the span of a week, viewers can expect to see sit-downs with the likes of Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. No other current late-night show boasts such a varied lineup.

With Colbert at the helm, Late Show hopes to convey a seamless combination of satire and intellectualism, attributes that made The Colbert Report so successful for so long. Colbert's natural charisma might draw the raucous chants of "Stephen, Stephen, Stephen" every night from the audience. But his legacy will rest on the rich humanity he brings to his wide variety of guests.

Let's look at how he tailors his approach for every new person who sits on his couch, via 15 very different guests.

1) Politicians

Politicians typically appear on late-night shows to seem comfortable and relatable, someone you can picture sitting down and having a beer with.

Therefore, the expectation is that they’ll talk a bit about themselves and their campaign, should they happen to be running for office. Perhaps at the end of the show, they’ll participate in some type of game with the host. It’s very PR-friendly.

Colbert interviewed his fair share of politicians on The Colbert Report, but rather than the standard softball late-night interview, he parodied opinionated, personality-driven political shows. He's kept up the energy with his Late Show interviews, but now he's steering the conversation toward the candidates’ policies and viewpoints.