There’s been no action in the wildly successful Pitch Perfect universe since 2017’s third film, but that all randomly changed with the short comedic series, Bumper in Berlin.
As one could predict based on the name, we’re back with the film trilogy’s original “villain,” Bumper Allen. Adam Devine plays the titular role, but he hasn’t been a part of anything related to this universe since the sequel. An odd, but entertaining character that I was pretty interested in seeing more of. I can tell you straight away, though you probably already know, this cocky acapella nerd’s life is floundering. He’s still trying to hold onto the glory of singing no matter who it’s for. Most people in their middle age have other things to worry about, so they don’t quite share his passion and dedication for putting on a stellar show for the elderly.
That’s when he gets a call from Pieter Kramer, former co-leader of German acapella superstars, Das Sound Machine. The group was involved in a pre-recorded music scandal, so he’s trying his hand at music management. He implores Bumper to come to Berlin where he’s a Tik Tok mash-up superstar. It didn’t really take much convincing, though nothing goes right from almost the second he lands. Turns out, Tik Tok is a tide that turns nightly, so he’s going to have to fight tooth and nail to really get anywhere over in Berlin, but Pieter, his assistant Heidi, and reluctantly Pieter’s sister Thea all have his back. Really much more than they should.
While Bumper is not the total cold-blooded asshole he portrayed in the films, he’s still self-centered and has no clue that he’s this way. That’s the worst! His stupidity and naivety work in his favor though, and even I found myself wanting him to succeed over Pieter’s ex, and real reason behind Das Sound Machine’s demise, Gisela. She’s perhaps even more self-centered than Bumper, though she’s also a lot more cunning in getting what she wants. Of course, there are other roadblocks and fast plot developments along the way, but it all worked out in the end for Bumper and his newfound “family.”
There were plenty of songs, both covers and original, throughout the six episode run, though most were just short bits and never really made any lasting impact on me like plenty of the numbers in the original film. I love a good mashup though, and they did several clever ones throughout. While the show was enjoyable, my biggest complaint was that there seemed to lack a certain flow. For there being six short episodes, it felt both like a lot of ground was covered, but then also like nothing at all? I don’t know, I’m still trying to process. I’d like to think that the cancelled second season could have smoothed things out more, but thanks to the greedy studios, we’ll probably never know. If you were a fan of the films, by all means give this a go.