Benson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986 on ABC. The character of Black butler Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume, had originally appeared on the soap opera parody Soap.

Series summary

In the show, Benson had been hired to be the head of household affairs for scatterbrained and widowed Governor Eugene Gatling (James Noble), and his daughter Katie (Missy Gold). Governor Gatling was cousin to Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), a character on Soap. The state of which Gatling was governor remained unidentified throughout the series, although Soap had taken place in Connecticut. In spite of his somewhat off center personality, Governor Gatling proved to be a very capable and commanding figure when a crisis arose.

Benson's housekeeping dilemmas, his fights with the German cook Gretchen Kraus (Inga Swenson), and his interactions with the governor's chief of staff, originally John Taylor (Lewis J. Stadlen) and later Clayton Endicott III (Rene Auberjonois), made up the bulk of the stories each week. In spite of their adversarial relationship, Benson and Kraus eventually became good friends. Benson also had very good friendships with the Governor's secretary, Marcy Hill (Caroline McWilliams), and her successor, Denise (Didi Conn). Marcy left after the second season after getting married.