‘Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin’: Megan Amram Talks Adam DeVine-Led Peacock Spinoff (Exclusive)

Pitch Perfect fans are in for a treat: Adam Devine’s character Bumper Allen is getting a Peacock spinoff series. In Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, he moves to Germany to revive his music career when one of his songs becomes big in Berlin.  And the themes from the beloved film trilogy are spread throughout the show. Megan Amran is the showrunner, writer, and executive producer – and an admitted fan of the franchise.

The movies were released in 2012, 2015, and 2017 respectively. They remain on rotation on several streaming platforms, as well as reruns on cable television stations. While she admits while speaking to us that she didn’t think of what fans of the franchise would think about her take on the series, she’s getting anxious as the streaming date nears. 

The six-episode series premieres on Nov. 23 on the streaming platform. Watch the full interview above, where she dished on working on location, and why Bumper is the perfect character to center the spinoff on. 

PC: Congratulations on the show. Obviously, huge Pitch Perfect fan over here, and the film franchise is such a cult classic and has such a dedicated fan base. Going into this project, were you intimidated by the idea of having to transition this from film to television, or a series? And were you nervous about how critical fans would be?

MA: Going into it, I was not nervous, partially because I am also a fan. So it was always coming from a place of love. And I was trying to make a show that I would like, and that would showcase the characters in a new way. But as we’ve gotten closer to the show coming out, I think the gravity of how much people love Pitch Perfect has hit me a little more. So I was like, “I’m glad it didn’t happen when I was making it.” So I’m hoping that the fans of OG Pitch Perfect find that this is a new way to love it.

What about the film franchise do you feel makes it the perfect continuation to be adapted for a series?

I think that TV shows and spinoffs, in particular, are a great way to kind of take a left turn a little bit. Bumper is, in the movies, not the main character. He’s the villain, if anything, and we don’t know a ton about him. But I feel like giving him a TV show was a really exciting way to get to deepen the character and to deepen Flula (Borg)’s character, Peter, and then also populate the world with new Germans that we haven’t met with other female characters who give the spirit of the Bellas even without them being there. So it’s an opportunity to just get a little weirder and more abstract.

And you spoke a little bit about how fans really don’t know much about Bumper. What was the motivation behind centering the show on him?

So, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handleman, the producers, before I joined on to the project, they had sort of had the idea that Bumper might be an interesting character to deepen, partially because Adam DeVine is such a talented actor, that he actually has a lot more depth he can play for that character.

I not only am a fan of Pitch Perfect, but I’m separately a huge fan of Adam DeVine from Workaholics and The Righteous Gemstones. And it sort of organically seemed like the right fit to take this guy who’s already…We know he’s really funny, but to give pathos and a backstory and some sweetness to him.

Now having Germany as a backdrop and setting, being in that setting, that must have been a dream. Right? So, how was the process of centering the writing within this new setting as far as the storyline and the story arc is concerned?

So first of all, I had not been to Berlin before I moved there to make this show, which is funny. But I was relieved after getting to Berlin that we seemed to be pretty dead-on for how the city feels and functions. I will say it was very much me and the other writers’ intention to never make Germany and Berlin the butt of the jokes. The butt of the jokes is almost entirely America or Bumper himself and his ignorance. Because everyone who was there, we really fell in love with this city that looks so much different from where we live, just has a really different vibe to it, and it’s all very loving.