Bumper In Berlin Is Full Of Aca-Awesome Pitch Perfect Easter Eggs

Bumper in Berlin may be half a world away from Barden University, but the Pitch Perfect spinoff series still hits some familiar notes for fans. No, don’t expect to see too many of your favorite movie show up in the Peacock series, but viewers will recognize a lot of fun references to the a cappella film trilogy. These Pitch Perfect Easter eggs in Bumper in Berlin will make fans so happy, they’ll be singing.

Spoiler alert: This post contains light spoilers from throughout Bumper in Berlin. The new series is a big of a departure from the Pitch Perfect formula, but it still has tons of little nods to the movies for superfans. Instead of focusing on the Barden Bellas training for some huge a cappella competition, the spinoff zeroes in on Bumper, the self-obsessed antagonist of the first movie turned unexpected sweetheart in the sequel. Unable to move on from his a cappella glory days, Bumper in Berlin finds the singer struggling to keep a group together years after graduating. However, luck strikes when he learns one of his TikToks blew up in Germany, and he sets off to try to become a pop star in Berlin.

Though Bumper’s journey is nearly a decade removed from his last Pitch Perfect appearance, the show is still full of callbacks that fans will recognize right away.

1. Amy

Bumper’s ex-girlfriend Amy doesn’t make an appearance in the season, but she is mentioned a few times. Most notably, in the series premiere, Bumper fantasized about Amy talking to him again once he makes it big as a singer. As a refresher, Amy revealed she broke up with Bumper in Pitch Perfect 3, and he doesn’t appear at all in that movie.

2. The Cups Song

Of course Bumper in Berlin had to mention the most iconic Pitch Perfect moment of all. While commiserating with Pieter in a bar, Bumper did a drunken version of “Cups” with a beer stein and explained how he never really understood why Beca’s cup-flipping ditty was such a big deal.

3. Das Sound Machine

Bumper isn’t the only Pitch Perfect character to appear in the new show. Flula Borg also reprised his Pitch Perfect 2 role of Pieter, the intense singer who was part of the Bellas’ rival a cappella group Das Sound Machine. Bumper in Berlin reveals Pieter was forced to leave the group in disgrace, but there are still several flashbacks and mentions of the sequel movie’s German group.

4. Barden University

Though most of Bumper in Berlin takes place in a whole new location, the show opens with a very familiar setting. Bumper just can’t seem to say goodbye to Barden University, it seems. Years after graduating, he still worked at the school as a janitor, but he leaves that behind pretty quickly to fly to Berlin.

5. The Riff Off

Every Pitch Perfect movie hit a high note by including a riff off, the a cappella battle in which rival teams go back and forth performing hit songs at one another. Bumper in Berlin kept this tradition alive when Bumper challenged Gisela to a riff off, with the rule that they could only sing songs from the other’s home country.

6. Aca Puns

Pitch Perfect-speak is back in full force in Bumper in Berlin. Fans will hear Bumper in sneak a few aca-awesome aca puns here and there.

Bumper in Berlin is now streaming on Peacock.