What's going to happen to Jay Leno when NBC boots him off the air to make room for Conan O'Brien next year? The speculation about the future of the late night talker — most recently in the news for making nice with the gays — has been running rampant since NBC's promise to the red-headed giant was made. But wouldn't it be nice to know all of the $27-million-a-year funnyman's options at the same time?

Option 1. Leno takes ABC's 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. time slot occupied by "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
ABC is Leno's most likely destination. He could compete directly with Letterman and O'Brien with a solid network promotional platform behind him.

Option 2. Leno launches a show on Fox at 11 or 11:30 p.m.
The top-rated late-night host could give the top-rated network its best shot to expand its primetime rule to late-night. But Fox doesn't program late-night, so it would face an additional challenge of getting the time back from its stations, which air off-net series or more local news after their 10-11 p.m. newscasts.

Option 3. Sony Pictures TV puts Leno in syndication.
Arsenio Hall proved in the 1990s that syndication was a viable route to late-night. And though Magic Johnson later stumbled, there's enough track record for Sony to make a go of it with Leno, who according to the New York Times has been wooed through intermediaries with the richest salary among late-night hosts, including an ownership stake in the show.

Option 4. Leno stays put on NBC … somehow.
NBC is offering Leno every other programming variation under the sun to stay — morning shows, afternoon shows, primetime specials. "We've laid out the whole menu of possibilities in different dayparts to him," one NBC insider says.

Option 5. Leno cools his heels for a year and re-emerges on CBS in 2010.
Retaining Letterman allows CBS to boast a stable late-night lineup to advertisers while competitors manage the post-Leno shake-up. But Letterman's contract expires in 2010, which isn't as far off as it might seem (especially if you're his agents at CAA).

Option 6. Leno joins Larry King as a CNN host.
Leno already has surfaced on various lists of replacements for King, whose recent contract renewal through 2010 has done little to scotch rumors that CNN is searching for his successor. The cabler has publicly denied this scenario, just as it did when rumors surfaced that King would be replaced by Katie Couric or Ryan Seacrest.

Option 7. Leno will retire to full-time stand-up in 2010.
The late-night landscape is far different now than it was in the early 1990s, the last time the "Tonight Show" chair changed occupants. Far fewer people fall asleep to the "Tonight" monologue than they used to, not only because of declining viewership but also because of more choices in late-night, including the Web. And don't forget the strong competition from cable, where Adult Swim and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" are siphoning off younger viewers.

[THR]