Although Benton was an original character, according to an interview La Salle gave in 1997, he was cast late in the role, after the first season had already started filming.

Both surgeons and the characters competed with each other professionally and failed to be adequately supportive of each other in their personal crises, so Corday ends the relationship in Season 5.

"[4] Mindful of the image that he was portrayed on television, La Salle asked producers to end Benton's interracial romance.

In Season 1, we learn that Dr. Benton's mother has had a stroke and is mostly being cared for by his sister Jackie, who wants to move her into an assisted living facility, an option to which Peter is strongly opposed.

Peter, at first, has difficulty accepting that his son is deaf and looks into surgeries to restore his ability to hear, but he later makes his peace with who Reese is, and he and Carla teach him to communicate through sign language.

Later, Carla begins a new relationship with a man named Roger McGrath (which she clumsily, and unsuccessfully, tried to keep a secret from a non-plussed Peter) and eventually marries him.

Peter takes a DNA test to determine whether or not Carla's suspicions are true, but he chooses not to receive the results and decides he will be Reese's father regardless of biology.

Carla does not respond to Peter's pleas to end the legal fight, but on Christmas Eve shows up angrily at the hospital with Reese and bitterly tells him "you win" and sarcastically thanks him for ruining her and Roger's lives, as Roger's boss booted him from the Germany-based promotion over the time he spent in court and they will have to remain in Chicago; Peter bluntly says he is sorry about the job but not sorry that his son will remain in the same city as him.

During court, Peter perjures himself on the witness stand and proclaims that he has been given a new schedule with reduced working hours at County General Hospital.

He is successful and gets the hours he had promised the judge, and he is awarded sole custody of Reese with Roger receiving visitation rights.

When British surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Corday starts work at County General Hospital, she is quickly attracted to Benton, though he initially disregards her attentions.

At length, Elizabeth tells him she believes that he does not want to pursue a relationship with her because of their racial difference, and Benton finally grudgingly admits to her that "I do have a problem dating white women."

Benton is suspended and comes close to losing his job before Morgenstern finally comes forward with the videotape of the operation, which exonerates his former student.

They remain together through much of the following two years, although their relationship eventually begins to suffer due to Peter's needing to spend more time attending to Reese.

Elizabeth feels betrayed by Peter and, wishing to stay at County, takes Romano's cardiothoracic fellowship offer.

Their relationship was stormy because of Peter's ex-girlfriend Carla, but in Season 8 they leave Chicago along with Benton's son Reese to start a new life.

Carter was left exhausted and distraught after a shift where the ER had handled a mass casualty, and when he admitted the night had devastated him and Benton simply gave him the token and said that if he was serious about being a good doctor, he would use it to come back to work the next day.

As Benton knew that Carter has gone to Africa for the past 4 years, it is likely that both doctors kept in limited contact with each other while working at different hospitals.

Romano intercepts the patient as social services arrive and performs the surgery, but he is enraged at Peter for calling them.

After the court battle between Roger and himself, Benton is forced to move away from County to work better hours in another hospital, in order to gain custody of Reese.

The first time was when he was passing the torch to Dr. Corday and she told him that her marriage to Benton's friend and colleague Dr. Mark Greene was in trouble.

Eriq La Salle made an uncredited appearance in the opening of "Heal Thyself" to tell the audience of the death of the show's creator Michael Crichton.

In the episode, he visits an old friend and former student John Carter who is awaiting a kidney transplant, and it is revealed that Benton has left private practice for a surgical attending position at Northwestern University Hospital now that Reese is thirteen.

He is seen wearing a wedding ring, so it is assumed he has married Cleo Finch who Benton states is at home watching Reese.