Sumith Prasad
Rob Lowe’s Captain Owen Strand is a highly respected and determined firefighter in FOX’s action series ‘9-1-1: Lone Star.’ Even though he always succeeds in protecting his subordinates and the general public with all his might and ability, Strand always fails embarrassingly to build a meaningful relationship with someone he likes, earning him the nickname “One Night Strand.” When Strand decides to find a true and meaningful relationship, Mateo guides him to Ascent, an invite-only dating app, designed exclusively for celebrities and influencers. As Strand begins a new chapter in his life with Ascent, one must be wondering whether the app is real. Let’s find out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Is Ascent a Real Dating App?
Ascent may be inspired by a real dating app. When Strand starts to use scam apps to find true love, Mateo comes to the rescue of the captain. He introduces Ascent, “a dating app for people who do not need dating apps,” to Strand. When Mateo says to him that Ben Affleck, Channing Tatum, and Drew Barrymore are on Ascent, Strand gets excited to use it. When he shares his enthusiasm with Mateo, the latter informs him that he can only join through an invitation of a celebrity or an influencer who already uses it.
Strand relieves Marjan from kitchen duty for two months to get an invite from her. Not only does he get into it but also goes for a date with Catherine, Governor of Texas’ Chief of Staff. Although Strand finds a great date in Ascent, no one from the real world ever did. The dating app is fictional and does not exist in real life. However, the fictional Ascent does resemble the invite-only app Raya immensely. First launched in 2015 as a dating app, Raya became a social network application gradually. As per reports, Ben Affleck, Channing Tatum, and Drew Barrymore are or were members of the app, which indicates that Ascent is most probably inspired by Raya.
Over the years, Raya has become a go-to dating app for celebrities. Several celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Amy Schumer and Sharon Stone are or were reportedly members of the platform. The exclusivity of the app makes Raya a preferred choice for actors, singers, and many others who work in the show business. Although Ascent is fictional, we can deduce that the app is more or less a ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ version of Raya.
Through Ascent, Captain Strand does find a remarkable match to build a potentially meaningful relationship. Even though Catherine does not like “the Matthew McConaughey fan” version of Strand, his successful attempt to capture Katie’s abductor does convince Catherine that Strand deserves a second chance at dating her.
Read More: Is 9-1-1: Lone Star Based on a True Story?
