How to check if a variable is either a python list, numpy array or pandas series

You can do it using isinstance:

import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
def f(l):
    if isinstance(l,(list,pd.core.series.Series,np.ndarray)):
        print(5)
    else:
        raise Exception('wrong type')

Then f([1,2,3]) prints 5 while f(3.34) raises an error.