Ryūkishi07 and 07th Expansion's popular When They Cry - Higurashi (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) horror software is inspiring a live-action television series. The television adaptation with eight one-hour episodes will premiere on the BS SkyPer! channel in May. The members of AKB48's sister idol group NGT48 will star in the main cast, although the cast roles have yet to be decided by audition.

The show will run every Friday at 9:00 p.m. Tōru Ōtsuka and Tarō Miyaoka are directing, and Toru Hasegawa is writing. MMJ (Media Mix Japan) is collaborating on the production with SkyPer!

07th Expansion's original Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novel software revolved around murders that coincide with an annual festival in a quiet rural village. The software inspired two television anime series, several video anime projects, two live-action films, and manga adaptations by several artists.

Ryūkishi07 and 07th Expansion released Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sui , the latest visual novel in the franchise, in March 2015. D-Light and Fields plan to release a game in Japanese pachinko parlors on February 28. Ryūkishi07 is launching a new project titled Hotaru-Bi no Tomoru Koro ni (When the Firefly Light Burns). Futabasha's Monthly Action magazine published a "chapter 0" manga for the new project in its February issue on December 25.

The NGT48 idol project launched in Niigata Prefecture last year, and the group began stage performances in their own theater on January 10.

Source: animeanime.jp