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¿Es carismático el actor nuevo? Por lo visto, lo es.

¿Es carismático el actor nuevo? Por lo visto, lo es.
Is the new actor charismatic? Apparently, he is.
From Lesson 524:Attribute replacement (lo)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about ¿Es carismático el actor nuevo? Por lo visto, lo es.

Why does the reply say lo es instead of just es like the English 'he is'?
In Spanish, you cannot end a short reply with just the verb ser like we do in English. You must replace the previously mentioned adjective (carismático) with the neuter pronoun lo. Here, lo stands in for the characteristic itself, similar to saying 'he is that way'.
If we were talking about a new actress, would the reply change to la es?
No, it would still be lo es. When replacing an adjective or attribute with a pronoun after the verb ser, you always use the invariable neuter lo. It never changes to match the gender or number of the subject.
What exactly does the phrase por lo visto mean?
Por lo visto is a very common fixed expression that translates to 'apparently' or 'by the looks of it'. It literally means 'by that which is seen', using the neuter article lo with the past participle visto to refer to a general, abstract situation.
Why is el actor nuevo placed at the very end of the first question?
While you could ask ¿El actor nuevo es carismático?, Spanish often changes the word order in questions for better flow. Placing the subject at the end emphasizes the adjective carismático, which is the core of the question, and sounds very natural to native speakers.

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