Will Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin Get A Season 2 At Peacock?
"Get aca-ready for more Bumper, because Peacock has confirmed a second season of "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin" is officially in the works!"
Well, that's what I wrote back in January of 2023 when the renewal was first announced. However, it's now September 2023 and Hollywood has been effectively shut down for over 100 days as a result of the AMPTP's refusal to negotiate a fair contract, causing a dual strike with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. The renewal has since been reversed, as reported by Deadline.
The spin-off series of the "Pitch Perfect" trilogy premiered in November 2022 and followed Adam Devine's Bumper Allen several years after the events of the films as he struggled to get his music career started. After one of his song mashups went viral on TikTok, he answered the call to adventure and moved to Germany, with the promise of becoming the next big music sensation. The show also starred Flula Borg as Pieter Krämer, the disgraced former leader of the German a cappella group Das Sound Machine (reprising his role from the movie trilogy), as well as Sarah Hyland, Lera Abova, and Jameela Jamil.
Peacock's renewal of "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin" was a result of it scoring "the biggest comedy premiere in Peacock history," being watched by more accounts during its premiere weekend than any other Peacock comedy at the time. It was already an impressive renewal, because it came at a time when most streamers were going through a rough period of cost savings, canceling everything left and right. It seemed like Peacock was going in the opposite direction, but alas, I guess we weren't meant to have good things.
Why you should watch Bumper in Berlin
Fortunately, the first season of the series is still available to watch on Peacock (for now, who knows how long that'll last these days), and it's a fantastic watch. If you like the absurdist, over-the-top musical comedy of the "Pitch Perfect" movies, its wacky situations and characters, and its aca-catchy jukebox musical numbers, you owe it to yourself to check out "Bumper in Berlin." Our own Barry Levitt reviewed "Bumper in Berlin," and called the series an "easy, breezy" comedy with "enough charm to make it a decent enough addition to the franchise." Admittedly, I enjoyed the series a bit more than Levitt, but I'm also an insufferable theater kid who formerly sang acapella, so this was always going to resonate with me.
It feels, for better and worse, like an early '00s spin-off — the kind that is based not on the most popular side character with the breakout star, but on the off-kilter character that showed up for a bit, was funny, but never really took off. Bumper is not a star, but he works well in an ensemble, and "Bumper in Berlin" has great side characters, from Sarah Hyland (who is the true protagonist of the show) to Borg doing his usual over-the-top routine. Like the "Pitch Perfect" movies, the show also has scene-stealing guest stars, most notably the legendary Udo Kier as a controlling avant-garde director.
Auf Wiedersehen, "Bumper in Berlin," we hardly knew you.