Tellyville

Boldly going where only Will Smith has gone before, Nelly has signed a deal to develop a sitcom vehicle for himself. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he's signing on with Paramount Network Television, which will put the ''Country Grammar'' rapper in the same shop as Kelsey Grammer.

The 23-year-old rapper (born Cornell Haynes Jr.) has not disclosed the premise of the show. It will be produced by Claude Brooks, who created MTV's ''Lyricist Lounge'' sketch comedy series.

Nelly, whose platinum ''Nellyville'' has been the top album on the Billboard chart for the last two weeks, starred in the little-seen hip-hop thriller ''Snipes'' last year and showed his flair for comedy by guest-starring on ''MAD TV,'' but otherwise, has little acting experience. Still, neither did Will Smith before he landed the lead role in the tailor-made ''Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' on NBC in 1990. He seems to have done all right for himself since.