Why do a lot of talk show hosts, say something like "Thanks Bob for filling out for me and doing a great job"?

I have no idea what you mean… Would “Bob” be the person being interviewed by the talk show host or someone standing in for them?

For the first case, probably because it takes two people to have a conversation.

@lilikoi It is a person who replaced them while they were away. A colleague. It is always a big company that has a HR dept that goes thru the list, to decide who will replace him/her. It has nothing to do with the talk show host in question.

oic. seamless transition, because they genuinely are grateful, i don’t know.

It’s nice to tell someone thank you, especially publicly on TV, where image is everything. It’s professional. It isn’t meant to insinuate that the person doing the thanking is somehow lying or misleading anyone. Where’d you get that idea?

Why not tell someone who filled in for you on vacation thanks? It is the same as if someone picked up your work while you were away. You would thank them when you returned, wouldn’t you?

It’s not a PR firm handling the guest hosts. The regular host will have major say who regarding who the guest host(s) will be. And if the regular host has been on for years, like Leno, Letterman or Craig Ferguson, it’s most likely his decision alone. The regular host usually owns part or all of the company that produces the show. It’s not simply the network’s or some agent’s decision. Of course the guest host will be thanked.

When Letterman had his heart surgery and needed to take off a few weeks to recuperate, he had final say on who sat in his chair while he was gone. As if Elvis Costello needed for his agent to get him that gig. :/

@phillis It is presumptious.
@aprilsimnel this has to do with a radio station. Someone is planning to apply for talk show host job. He listens to two hosts. He likes Bob, sounds like a very good person, he can be trusted kind of guy. Acccording to him, Bob wouldn’t like being on the same planet with this other host, the one who replaced him. He thinks he probably doesn’t want his name to be mentioned in anyway by him. So he thinks he wouldn’t like to hear him say (“I thank Bob…” ) . So he gathered that they must be forced to say that by the employer, and he doesn’t not like that at all.

@lilikoi Each person is just doing their job. It completely doesn’t correspond to the facts, especially if one hates the other’s guts, or both hate each others guts.

@marinelife I know the manager would find out who is available to pick up extra shifts, and then he picks the most…(whatever) and that person fills in to make extra money or because he likes the work, etc. That is how it works. So, it wouldn’t occur to me to thank them, there is no reason for it.