I'd say scheme fits into the python niche rather well. It's faster, easy to learn, and usually has good C interopt (or great interopt in the case of ones like chicken).
<stands on soapbox>
Scheme: fix your damn documentation
I have to know that SRFI (scheme request for implementation) is a thing. Then I have to look over hundreds of them to find the one I want (do I want SRFI 69, 90, 125, or 126 for hash tables?). Then I have to find that obscure doc somewhere that says which SRFI are supported. Then I have to read the specification doc as the only source of documentation on https://srfi.schemers.org/.
<stands on soapbox>
Scheme: fix your damn documentation
I have to know that SRFI (scheme request for implementation) is a thing. Then I have to look over hundreds of them to find the one I want (do I want SRFI 69, 90, 125, or 126 for hash tables?). Then I have to find that obscure doc somewhere that says which SRFI are supported. Then I have to read the specification doc as the only source of documentation on https://srfi.schemers.org/.