Friends: Why The One After Vegas Changes The Cast Members’ Last Names

Friends added a subtle joke to the opening credits of season 6’s premiere episode, “The One After Vegas,” and here’s the story behind it.
The classic episode “The One After Vegas” added the last name Arquette to Friends’ entire cast in the opening credits with a sweet backstory behind the joke. The Friends ensemble is one of the main reasons the show became such a television icon and the tragic death of Matthew Perry in 2023 really showcased how close the cast members were. However, a subtle joke that confuses many viewers in season 6 of Friends offers an example of how the entire show supported each other and celebrated them in charming ways.
Over the course of the series, the writers included a couple of jokes related to the actors’ lives behind the cameras, like casting Brad Pitt in Friends while he was married to Jennifer Aniston. Similarly, Season 6’s premiere episode included a subtle joke about Courteney Cox’s personal life, which coincidentally connected to Monica’s relationship arc with Chandler, making way for a fun detail in the opening credits and a special Friends message from the producers to Cox.
Friends: Why Everyone Was An Arquette In The One After Vegas
The Joke Celebrated Courteney Cox’s Recent Marriage
Friends’ season 6 premiere episode, “The One After Vegas”, continues the plot from the final two episodes of season 5, in which the whole group traveled to Las Vegas. Once there, Rachel and Ross got drunk and married, while Monica and Chandler were looking for signs that they should be spontaneous and get married there.
As the title of the episode says, “The One After Vegas” follows the aftermath of Ross and Rachel’s marriage, Phoebe and Joey driving back to New York, and Monica and Chandler discuss if they should move in together. The opening credits of the episode had a surprise, with the main Friends cast getting an extra last name: Arquette.

Courteney Cox and David Arquette got married between seasons, and she took his last name. “The One After Vegas” was the first episode to credit her as “Courteney Cox Arquette”, so the writers added “Arquette” to all cast members (and the creators, too) as an inside joke.

During the fade out to the tag scene, they also added a dedication that read “To Courteney and David, who did get married”, which references Monica and Chandler’s arc as they decided to not get married (yet) and instead moved in together. This episode is referred to among fans as “the Arquette episode” and will live on as a nice touch from the production of Friends to celebrate Courteney Cox’s marriage.

Courteney Cox And David Arquette Sadly Didn’t Last
The Actors Remain Close Despite Their Divorce
While Friends offered a tribute to Courteney Cox and David Arquette’s nuptials, the couple, unfortunately, didn’t last. The two got married in 1999, meeting during the first Scream movie. By Scream 2, the couple had begun dating, and by Scream 3, the pair had married. David Arquette and Courteney Cox enjoyed an 11-year marriage, during which they had a daughter, Coco Arquette, before finally calling it quits in 2010. The two separated, with both parties filing for divorce in 2012.
Cox and Arquette cited the reason for the divorce as irreconcilable differences, which the two have discussed in greater depth during various interviews. Despite the separation, Courteney Cox and David Arquette remain “best friends” and continue to co-parent their daughter Coco. Even with all of this in mind, the Arquette tribute during the Friends episode “The One After Vegas” remains a loving homage to their relationship.
The Credits Aren’t The Only Reason This Friends Episode Is Special
The Episode Is Filled With Key Moments In Friends’ Biggest Relationships
The Arquette joke is a nice little addition to the episode “The One After Vegas” but the episode’s reputation is far more than that little Easter egg. Along with it being an Emmy-nominated installment of Friends, it also serves as the conclusion to the wonderful three-episode Las Vegas arc which is viewed as one of the best Friends episodes. On top of including the charming moments of Chandler and Monica nearly getting married, the episode has some wildly funny bits like Joey’s hand twin and Ross and Rachel’s drunken adventures.

This also makes it another important entry in Ross and Rachel’s relationship as it ends with them getting married. Given the drama that these two go through and the big romantic moments that brought them back together, it was fun that they getting married was dealt with simply like a joke. As Rachel says in this Friends episode, “This isn’t a marriage, this is the world’s worst hangover.” It is certainly not the fairy tale wedding fans expected for these characters but it is certainly memorable.