Samuel D. Hunter (born 1981)[1] is an American playwright living in New York City.

[2] Hunter was born and raised in Moscow, Idaho.

[3] He is best known for plays A Bright New Boise, which won the 2011 Obie Award for playwriting, and The Whale, which won the 2013 Drama Desk Award and the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.

[4] Hunter is also a writer and producer for the television show Baskets.

[5] A film adaptation of The Whale, written by Hunter and directed by Darren Aronofsky, was released in December 2022 and received two Academy Awards.