Soap had also ended unintentionally on a cliffhanger. They later cancelled the show after the last episode had aired so fans were left wondering who won the election. The network had asked that the season end on a cliffhanger.
The series was likely cancelled by ABC as a result of rising production costs (the cast contracts expired at the end of season seven) and sagging ratings. This would have happened as a result of a string of accidents involving the various people in the line of succession.įraser suspects that their plans to make Benson the first African-American President may have impacted ABC’s decision to end the series. Then, following the plot of the popular novel The Man by Irving Wallace, Benson would have ended up as President of the United States. Kraus and Clayton would have followed Benson to the nation’s capital to take on the bureaucrats with his no-nonsense manner. In a strange twist, the state’s junior senator would have died unexpectedly and Governor Gatling would have appointed Benson to finish out the senator’s term in Washington. Benson would have been left trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. Sleezy Senator Tyler (Benson’s running mate) would have asked for a recount but Gatling would remain the winner. Governor Gatling would have won the election by a slim margin. In January 2007, Benson showrunner Bob Fraser (who also played Senator Tyler) shared with us what the election outcome would have been and plans for season eight. Underhanded Senator Leonard Tyler (Bob Fraser) is a frequent thorn to the Gatling administration. New staffmembers include snotty chief-of-staff Clayton Endicott III (Rene Auberjonois), dim-witted press assistant Pete Downey (Ethan Phillips), ditzy secretary Denise Stevens (Didi Conn), and addled housekeeper Rose Cassidy (Billie Bird). Thankfully, Benson does have an ally in Marcy Hill (Caroline McWilliams), the Governor’s level-headed secretary.Īs time goes on, both Taylor and Marcy leave and Benson becomes the state’s budget director, then Lieutenant Governor.
By the end of the pilot episode, Benson’s decided to stay full-time and becomes the mansion’s head of household.īenson frequently finds himself butting heads with acerbic housekeeper Gretchen Kraus (Inga Swenson) and the Governor’s persnickety aide, John Taylor (Lewis J. The honest but naive Gatling has recently been elected governor of the state and needs all the help he can get juggling his new job with raising his precocious daughter, Katie (Missy Gold). Sharp-tongued butler Benson DuBois (Robert Guillaume) is asked by his employer, Soap’s Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond), to help out her widowed cousin, Gene Gatling (James Noble). Performers include: Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson, Missy Gold, Rene Auberjonois, Ethan Phillips, Didi Conn, Caroline McWilliams, Billie Bird, and Lewis J.