Television

Drama Shows

Before The Boys, Erin Moriarty Had A Small Role In HBO's Best Detective Show

By Joe Roberts

June 1, 2026 7:00 pm EST

Prime Video

We all know Erin Moriarty as Annie January, aka Starlight, on "The Boys," but before she played the idealistic hero, she showed up in one of the greatest seasons of TV ever made. "True Detective" Season 1 started life as a book and a stage play before becoming one of those rare shows that actually live up to their considerable hype. Nic Pizzolatto's detective series set an impossibly high standard with its inaugural season, one which the writer/creator failed to match with his two follow-up seasons. Small though her role may be, then, Moriarty is surely proud to have played Woody Harrelson's rebellious daughter in what might just be the best HBO season of all time.

Based on a character from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series, Annie January started her time on "The Boys" by auditioning for the Seven. Over the course of the series, however, she grew disillusioned with Vought International and their profiteering, ultimately switching sides to help the titular superhero team. Starlight even showed up as part of the Starlighters storyline in season 2 of spin-off "Gen V." The role is easily Moriarty's biggest and most well-known. But what many fans might have missed is that the woman behind this hopeful hero once played a small but significant role in Season 1 of "True Detective".

Audrey Hart was the daughter of Woody Harrelson's Marty Hart, who, alongside Matthew McConaughey's Rustin Cohle, investigated a spate of murders and disappearances in Southern Louisiana. Though Audrey wasn't a big part of the story, she was an important character as she represented everything Marty needed in his life but was too preoccupied to see. She was also at the center of a smaller mystery that fans still theorize about today.

Erin Moriarty more than held her own on True Detective

HBO

On "The Boys," we watched Starlight's transformation from an idealistic hero to a more shrewd observer of Vought International's cynicism. On "True Detective," Erin Moriarty portrayed a not dissimilar character arc for Audrey Hart, who we see as a young girl (played by Madison Wolfe) and as a recalcitrant teen harboring serious resentment toward her father. Time really is a flat circle because there are clear similarities in Audrey's transition from innocent child to embittered adolescent, and while Moriarty only played the latter, she did a fine job matching the work of her esteemed scene partners.

If you've seen "The Boys" but not "True Detective" Season 1, I would highly recommend remedying that immediately. The debut season of Nic Pizzolatto's crime anthology series really is every bit as good as even the most rabid fanboys say (though you shouldn't listen to the ones claiming "True Detective: Night Country" was anything less than the best season since the first). Every aspect of Season 1 was outstanding, from Cary Joji Fukunaga's cinematography to Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's performances, which remain career bests for both (and that's saying something). But it was the stunning combination of influences Pizzolatto expertly wove together that made "True Detective" so enduringly impressive, with the creator drawing from folklore, cosmic horror, classical philosophy, and more to create a modern-day Southern Gothic that stays with you long after the show's beautifully tragic, ambiguous ending.

As such, being a part of the show was surely a thrill for Moriarty, who had several scenes with Harrelson and more than managed to hold her own — even when she had to take a slap from her on-screen father in an emotionally charged moment. It was an impressive performance from the then-19-year-old.

Though her role was small, True Detective remains one of Erin Moriarty's best

HBO

Erin Moriarty told the Daily Beast she originally auditioned for the part of a woman on "True Detective" but was cast as Audrey after Cary Fukunaga saw her audition. "I agreed, of course, because I wanted to work with all the amazing people involved," she said, before addressing several fan theories surrounding her character. To this day, one of the biggest revolves around a brief scene in which a young Audrey and her sister Maisie Hart (Meghan Wolfe/Brighton Sharbino) arrange their dolls in a way that appears to depict the type of ritual performed by the cult at the center of Marty Hart's investigation. No explanation has ever been provided, but this brief moment suggests the cult's influence was disturbingly pervasive in Southern Louisiana.

Beyond that, Audrey, her sister, and mother, Maggie Hart (Michelle Monaghan), were the most important characters in Marty's life. The fact that he neglected them for his career and continued his infidelity was the catalyst for his entire character arc, with Marty ultimately delivering one of the most quietly devastating monologues of the series as he realizes his folly. "There's a feeling that, you might notice it some time, this feeling like life has slipped through your fingers," he says. "Like the future is behind you. Like it's always been behind you." This plays out in a heartbreaking sequence that cuts from Audrey as a young girl to her teenage self, as the weight of all that Marty has lost falls like a hammer.

"The Boys" is the best superhero show on TV, but I'm not sure Moriarty has been a part of something as brilliant as "True Detective" since. This is your sign to watch Season 1 immediately.