Benson (TV series)

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.