Benson is an American television
sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986, on
ABC. The series was a
spin-off from the
soap opera parody Soap, in which the character Benson, portrayed by
Robert Guillaume, had first appeared as the wise-cracking yet level-headed African-American butler for the highly dysfunctional Tate family. However,
Benson eschewed the soap opera format of its parent show for a more conventional sitcom structure. The series was created by
Susan Harris, and produced by
Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions.