We learned a few weeks ago that the very first guests of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would be George Clooney and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush—covering both ends of the political spectrum in one go—but now CBS has unveiled the full list of Colbert’s first week of guests, and it’s wonderfully diverse. Scarlett Johansson kicks off The Late Show’s second installment alongside Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Kendrick Lamar, who will be participating in an interview and acting as the musical guest. The third episode on Thursday puts Uber CEO Travis Kalanick front and center alongside musical guest Toby Keith, and the inaugural week concludes with Amy Schumer, Stephen King, and interview/musical guest Troubled Waters on Friday.

That is a very random group of people to bring together for a late night talk show, but it’s an incredibly promising look at what kind of Late Show Colbert intends to put together. I love that he’s not simply cramming as many celebrities as possible into one week, but is instead filling out the roster with folks who are both well-known and interesting. Folks are mighty curious to see what a Stephen Colbert show looks like without “Stephen Colbert,” but I have to say I’m quite optimistic about the kind of show the comedian is putting together. It doesn’t appear to be your standard, run-of-the-mill late night talk show, and in that way it feels like Colbert is honoring the institution that David Letterman built.

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Image via Marvel Studios

Check out the full calendar of guests, musical performances, and dates for the first week of shows below. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert kicks off Tuesday, September 8th at 11:35pm ET/PT on CBS.

  • Tuesday, Sept. 8 - Actor George Clooney; Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush; musical performance by Jon Batiste and Stay Human with special guests
  • Wednesday, Sept. 9 - Actress Scarlett Johansson; SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk; interview with and musical performance by Kendrick Lamar
  • Thursday, Sept. 10 - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick; musical performance by Toby Keith
  • Friday, Sept. 11 - Comedian Amy Schumer; author Stephen King; interview with and musical performance by Troubled Waters
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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via CBS