Just when Bumper Allen’s (Adam Devine) musical career was beginning, it’s now sadly coming to an end. The Hollywood Reporter states that Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin has been canceled by Peacock after only one season. The decision comes as a surprise, given how the streaming platform had already renewed the series for a second installment before today’s announcement. There was a very special reason for the show to follow a secondary character for the franchise years after the plot of the original films, but that journey won’t get to reach its destination.
When it was clear that another Pitch Perfect movie wouldn’t be moving forward with its development any time soon, Universal realized that the best way to continue the franchise was to work on a television series far away from the main cast. Their solution was grabbing Devine‘s character and sending him to Germany while he tried to become a famous singer by himself. Unfortunately, his story didn’t connect with audiences as much as The Barden Bellas’ did, prompting the network to revert their decision of producing new episodes for Bumper in Berlin. Another possible factor related to the abrupt ending of the series could be the ongoing dual strike organized by the Writers Guild Association and SAG-AFTRA.
With studios keeping things at a stand-still, the industry has been widely affected by the dual strike. Major productions from almost every studio currently working on the industry have stopped filming, causing delays and cancelations across the board. With Bumper in Berlin‘s renewal announcement coming this past January, it might’ve been possible for Allen’s story to continue within a different context. There is no other project related to the Pitch Perfect franchise in development at the moment.
Who Was Bumper Allen in ‘Pitch Perfect’?
Before he was sent to find his own path in Germany, Bumper Allen was the main antagonist of the first Pitch Perfect film. The character was responsible for making life difficult for Becca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick) and her friends with the talent displayed by his own team. He was the major obstacle preventing Becca’s group from winning championships, but when he resigns from competition after being selected as a background singer by John Mayer, things change for the better. Thanks to that unexpected offer in his life, added to the talent already displayed by The Bellas, Becca and her friends were able to win the national championship.
via Collider