All-Star Guest Lineup for the Final Week of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

NBC has revealed the guest lineup for the final week of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as the long-running late-night program prepares to hand the desk to Jimmy Fallon. Fallon will make his debut as host on February 17, while Leno’s final week of guests runs Monday, February 3 through Thursday, February 6.

Overview of the Farewell Week

During his last week behind the Tonight Show desk, Jay Leno will welcome a roster of notable entertainers, actors and musicians who helped define the show’s cultural reach. The week’s schedule highlights both familiar faces and milestone moments: Jimmy Fallon, Leno’s successor, will visit early in the week; beloved comedian Billy Crystal—who was Leno’s very first guest when he began hosting the show—will join him for the farewell night; and country superstar Garth Brooks will provide music on the final episode.

Day-by-Day Guest Schedule

Monday, Feb. 3: Jimmy Fallon, the incoming Tonight Show host, will visit the show. Also appearing on Monday is television icon Betty White, who will make her 19th appearance on Leno’s program.

Tuesday, Feb. 4: Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Matthew McConaughey will sit down with Leno. The episode will also feature NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, marking his 24th visit to the show. Musically, Lyle Lovett will perform; Lovett’s numerous Tonight Show appearances tie him for the most guest spots by a musician.

Wednesday, Feb. 5: Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock will join Leno on the couch. The evening’s other guest is country star and The Voice coach Blake Shelton, who will add his signature personality to the conversation. The rock-soul band Vintage Trouble is also scheduled to perform during the week.

Thursday, Feb. 6 — Farewell Night: Jay Leno will close out his 22-year tenure with a final episode that includes a return visit from his inaugural Tonight Show guest, comedian Billy Crystal, and musical performances by country megastar Garth Brooks. The pairing of Crystal and Brooks provides a fitting bookend to Leno’s run, which began with Crystal’s appearance on May 25, 1992.

The Tonight Show Legacy

Since taking the Tonight Show helm in May 1992, Jay Leno has maintained the program’s long-standing tradition of booking top entertainers, musicians, politicians and cultural figures. The show consistently brought timely interviews and musical performances to a broad audience and often reflected the pulse of popular culture and current events.

Notably, the show made history in March 2009 when it hosted President Barack Obama—still the only sitting U.S. president to appear on late-night television—underscoring the Tonight Show’s reach and relevance.

Ratings and Run

Throughout his two-decade run, Leno kept The Tonight Show competitive in its time slot. Since 1995 the program has frequently led in total viewers among the broadcast networks during late-night hours. The series recorded a particularly strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2013, posting its largest adult 18–49 audience (1.1 million viewers) and largest overall audience (3.8 million viewers) in three years, and improving across key ratings categories compared with the prior year.

Looking Ahead

The final week of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno offers a blend of star power, memorable reunions and musical performances, paying tribute to a host who has been a fixture of late-night television for more than two decades. As Jimmy Fallon prepares to take over the desk, the farewell week serves both as a celebration of Leno’s tenure and a passing of the torch to the next generation of late-night entertainment.