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NBC Sandra Bullock and Jay Leno 
  
 Sandra Bullock gave a tearful sendoff to Jay Leno Wednesday during his penultimate Tonight Show, which also featured surprise appearances from Arsenio Hall, Kevin Smith and Carrot Top. 
  
 "You've always been so kind. That's saying a lot in this business, because we like to be mean," Bullock said. "There's not been one time you haven't treated me like I had something to offer – even when the film was awful and you knew it, you never let me see it in your eyes." 
  
 She added: "When I made crazy life decisions, you never questioned it. You were so welcoming. I just felt special, even when I was insecure." 
  
 VIDEO: Jimmy Fallon Invites Jay Leno to Be Guest on New 'Tonight Show' 
  
 "Well, you are special," Leno said, kissing Bullock's hand. 
  
 The sincere moment came after Leno teased Bullock about Speed 2 – noting he could finally ask borderline rude question, because of his impending retirement: "I don't care anymore!" 
  
 ﻿Earlier, a few unannounced guests stopped by The Tonight Show to toast outgoing host Leno. 
  
 Leno told the audience he'd been cleaning out his office, and found some things his famous guests had left over the years. Among them – Justin Bieber's diary and a bong. After Leno read from the diary, director Kevin Smith showed up to claim the bong – noting it held less weed than when he'd left it. 
  
 PHOTOS: Jay Leno's Final Days With 'The Tonight Show' 
  
 Carrot Top appeared to claim a few props he'd left at the show, including a new helmet for recently defeated Super Bowl team the Denver Broncos (complete with tissues). Arsenio Hall also made a brief appearance to wish Leno luck. Later, Blake Shelton praised Leno for keeping his personal politics out of the show. "Everybody gets ripped on." 
  
 Leno's final Tonight Show is Thursday, with Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks scheduled. Leno said there'd be more surprises that even he isn't privy to. 
  
 The Tonight Show airs Thursdays at 11:35 p.m. on NBC. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
  
 When Jay Leno signs off from “The Tonight Show” Thursday, the comedian will be without a regular TV gig for the first time since he took over for Johnny Carson as “Tonight” host back in 1992. Leno said in several recent interviews that he’s had “all kinds of offers” for post-“Tonight Show” TV work, but adds that he isn’t interested in another late-night gig. 
  
 Of course, in Hollywood and television, everything can change. But no matter what, the late-night landscape has changed significantly since 2009, when Leno almost bolted for ABC, which in turn lead to NBC’s creation of “The Jay Leno Show” to keep him from leaving. ABC now has Jimmy Kimmel at 11:30, leaving FOX as the only broadcaster without a late-night show. However, many FOX affiliates have hefty syndication commitments at 11 pm, and if they couldn’t/wouldn’t free them up to make a deal with O’Brien four years ago after his “Tonight” exit, don’t look for them to do it for the older-skewing Leno. 
  
 But a notorious workaholic like Leno — who squeezed in 100 stand-up gigs last year in addition to his regular “Tonight Show” hosting duties — won’t simply be putting his feet up in retirement. 
  
 Here are seven likely landing spots for him in the coming months: 
  
 NBC NBC Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt said at last month’s Television Critics Association winter press tour that he is “very much hoping” he can convince the loyal company man to stick around at the network. Since another “Jay Leno Show” isn’t an option, NBC would more likely offer him a Bob Hope-like deal, where Leno could host variety specials throughout the year. While loyalty has won Leno over before, it’s hard to see him agreeing to such a limited role, especially one that potentially could expose him to yet another host controversy if ratings for “Tonight” falter with Jimmy Fallon at the helm. 
  
 USA The number one basic cable network for the past eight years is making its first real push into comedy this season (it began airing “Modern Family” in syndication last fall, and launches its first original comedy series, “Sirens,” on March 6). What better way to establish its comedy bona fides than land the number one guy in late night? Leno’s audience is a great fit with those of USA’s syndication stalwarts “NCIS” and especially “Law & Order: SVU,” whose audience is accustomed to sticking around for Leno after that show’s conclusion. Better yet, he’d remain in the NBC Universal family, so NBC could still tap him for the occasional primetime special as detailed above, which would give him the best of both worlds. And if Leno is wary of competing against “Tonight,” he could always agree to a half-hour format that starts at 11 and ends before Fallon, Kimmel and David Letterman face off. 
  
 CNN Leno’s former NBC boss, Jeff Zucker, now runs CNN Worldwide, and said last month that it’s “not in the cards anytime soon” to give Leno a late-night show at CNN. But he also admitted that CNN’s primetime lineup could use some upgrading. So how about having Leno replace Piers Morgan for a nightly show that relies heavily on interviews, with some comedy components sprinkled in? Leno, who told The Hollywood Reporter that politicians were always his favorite “Tonight Show” interview subjects “because it’s real. They’re not playing a role,” would seem to welcome such a gig. 
  
 Fox News The top cable news network had once tried to mount a more conservative version of “The Daily Show,” and perhaps they could woo Leno (who has called himself “conservative fiscally” and “probably liberal socially”) for a show that would allow him to joke about the day’s events while interviewing a notable politician (a favorite of his, see above). As was the case with USA, this also seems to be an ideal fit for Leno’s “Tonight Show” audience. 
  
 History In recent interviews, car buff Leno has made a point of talking up how much he loves doing “Jay Leno’s Garage,” his weekly webcast devoted to his massive car collection. If he wants to pursue something completely different from “The Tonight Show,” a car-centric show would be perfect for him. Leno himself mentioned working for History — home of “Top Gear” —as a job that “would be fun to do” during his 60 Minutes interview; in turn, a network spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that “we think he would really be complementary to our audience.” 
  
 DiscoveryBut if Leno wants to make the biggest splash possible by bringing Jay Leno’s Garage to TV, then he really should consider Discovery, which is even a better fit for him than History. Discovery Communications also offers several networks that would be ideal outlets for his various interests and talents. He could adapt Jay Leno’s Garage for Discovery, race cars on Velocity, interview celebs on OWN and turn his “Jaywalking” Tonight segments into a TLC series (come to think of it, more than a couple TLC series seem to have been inspired by “Jaywalking”). Out of all the options listed here, Discovery would give him the best opportunity to try something completely different while also staying in touch with his roots. ||||| Thursday night is the end for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." 
  
 After 22 years, the 63-year-old host is leaving NBC's legendary late-night talk show and handing over the reins to Jimmy Fallon. 
  
 The Times recently spoke with Leno backstage at "Tonight" about his departure, his thoughts on comedy and the Conan O'Brien fiasco of four years ago, and what he'll do next. Here are some excerpts from the conversation: 
  
 You've said that leaving "Tonight" now feels "about right." But I can't imagine you're happy. 
  
 I'm not unhappy. This is a great franchise, and you like to keep it No. 1. I'm real proud we've been able to keep it No. 1. You know, there are people who like you and people who don't like you. "You suck, you stink." Whatever it is. But like baseball scores, like football scores, at the end here's the results. We've kept the show No. 1 for 20 years straight. And we've won every demographic group, all this kind of stuff. And eventually you hit diminishing returns. 
  
 Look, if NBC didn't have Jimmy Fallon in the wings, would I be here a little longer? Probably. But you know, he's really good. I really like him. He's a true couple of generations away from me. When I see him do his musical numbers and stuff, I say, "I can't do that. That music is not my music." 
  
 PHOTOS: A day on set with Jay Leno 
  
 He also plays games on the show, like "Egg Russian Roulette." 
  
 It is a different show. But I think he's closer to what Johnny [Carson] was when he started. 
  
 So what are you going to do? 
  
 I've always been a stand-up comedian that had a day job. This is my day job. I've always been on the road every single weekend — and the week too — since I got this job. So I'm back on the road. We leave here on the 6th. The 7th I'm in Sarasota. The 8th I'm in Clearwater. The 9th I'm in Naples, Fla. The 10th I'm in Miami ... 
  
 It's what you have to do if you want to do comedy. You can't take a year off and come back. No one's ever taken time off as a comedian and come back and been better. It doesn't work that way. It atrophies. You have to do it all the time. 
  
 What about doing another late-night TV show? 
  
 No, I don't think so. I mean, the ground has to lie fallow for awhile, I think. I've been doing this a long time. I have no plans to go up against anybody else. People go, "Oh, Jay's waiting in the wings." It's so stupid. 
  
 If you come back and you're not No. 1 the first night, people are like, "Jay sucks!" The whole thing starts all over again. It all gets silly. 
  
 PHOTOS: Classic 'Tonight Show' moments 
  
 Do you worry about getting older? 
  
 No, actually. I am in better shape against other 63-year-olds than I ever was against other 25-year-olds. I am not an athlete. I don't drink, I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I run a couple miles every day and I work out every day. If I was a tennis player or something like that, it'd be, "Oh my God, I'm getting older, I can't swing as much." But you're telling jokes. It's not that hard. Comedy is like golf. You can do it into your elderly years. 
  
 Several years ago, NBC had the idea to put you on at 10 p.m. The show bombed. Why? 
  
 NBC came up with this idea, "Listen, we'll do a show at 10 o'clock and you can keep all your people, everybody in the same offices, everyone still gets a paycheck." I was like, "Eh, let's give it a try." It seemed like an interesting idea at the time. The idea was that we would not do well during sweeps and then when everyone else was in reruns we would be an original program. So the idea was, when everyone else was down, we'd be up and vice versa. Well, we never got to the point where everyone else was down. |||||
What is a summary?
– Jay Leno will host his last episode of the Tonight Show tonight. A roundup of the news swirling around his departure: Sandra Bullock appeared on last night's show, and offered a tearful tribute to Leno, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "You've always been so kind. That's saying a lot in this business, because we like to be mean," she said. "There's not been one time you haven't treated me like I had something to offer—even when the film was awful and you knew it." The Los Angeles Times talked to Leno recently, and he says he's "not unhappy" about leaving. Successor Jimmy Fallon is "really good," Leno says, adding that he even thinks Fallon is "closer to what Johnny [Carson] was when he started." As for what's next, Leno ruled out another late-night TV show. Instead: "I've always been a stand-up comedian that had a day job," he says. "This [Tonight] is my day job. I've always been on the road every single weekend—and the week too—since I got this job. So I'm back on the road. We leave here (today)." His first show is tomorrow. But NBC News doesn't think Leno will stay off TV for long, and offers up seven likely gigs. Among them: variety specials at NBC, an interview show at CNN, a car show on the History Channel or the Discovery Channel, or even a current events show (think a somewhat conservative answer to the Daily Show) on Fox News. On tonight's show: Billy Crystal, Leno's first Tonight guest from back in 1992, and Garth Brooks, the New York Times reports.