Auditions for new idol group begin in mid-May for story set in S. Korea

Bandai Namco Entertainment announced on Friday that it will launch a South Korea-based live-action show based on The [email protected] franchise. The show is tentatively titled The [email protected] , and its broadcast timeframe has not been set yet.

The show will begin casting auditions for 15 idols in mid-May, and Interactive Media Mix, Inc. will handle the planning and production of the series. The show will follow the tone of previous works, and will once again center on a new group of idols' growth, performances, and mutual friendships. However, the story will be set in South Korea, and will follow the country's production and entertainment industry. The characters from the games will not appear in the show.

The [email protected] began as an arcade game in 2005. The first game in the franchise inspired Sunrise's 2007 loose television anime adaptation which Sentai Filmworks licensed for North America. The game franchise then spawned A-1 Pictures' more direct adaptation that included a 2011 television anime series, several original video anime, and a 2014 anime film, THE [email protected] MOVIE: Kagayaki no Mukōgawa e! (pictured left). Crunchyroll streamed A-1 Pictures' television series as it aired in Japan.

The spinoff game The [email protected] Cinderella Girls launched its second anime season last year. The newest entry in the game franchise, The [email protected]: Platinum Stars , is slated for release on the PlayStation 4 in Japan on July 28.

[Via Hachima Kikō]