This Character Is Arguably The Smartest In All Of NCIS History
In today's media landscape, "long-running network crime drama with an acronym in its title" describes not one, but multiple TV series. The most prominent among them is likely NCIS. Throughout its run, NCIS has expanded into a full-fledged franchise under which the main series and a few spin-off series fall. In short, the world of NCIS is expansive, if only by merit of the raw number of hours of broadcast time devoted to its stories.
NCIS stands for "Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Thus, the crimes its central cast of characters must investigate are military-related, differentiating it from other acronym-in-title crime dramas. Given the size of the show, the team at the NCIS is expansive, comprised of rotating members of a central cast as well as various guest stars.
Theoretically at least, those whose job it is to investigate crimes should bring a certain level of smarts to the table. Various characters, therefore, throughout NCIS history, have been defined in part by their degree of implied intelligence. That said, forensic investigator Abigail Sciuto stands as the likely consensus pick for the smartest character in the series' history.
Abigail's defining characteristic is her intellect
In a multitude of ways, the writers of NCIS seem to have written Abigail explicitly to highlight her intelligence. She learned to drive at age ten, and graduated college with a triple major in sociology, criminology, and psychology. In real life, academic superlatives don't always correspond to intelligence, but in the fictional world of NCIS, these characteristics are very much intended to represent her smarts.
As an investigator with NCIS, Abigail is a forensics expert. Her job entails analyzing crime scene elements like ballistics and strands of DNA left behind by presumed criminals. Essentially, Abigail's role is largely behind-the-scenes rather than in the field, though she does branch out a bit in her later seasons. She's frequently shown to be enthusiastic for and proficient at her job when it comes time for her to contribute to a case.
Actor Pauley Perrette played Abigail for 15 seasons in total. She also appeared on a couple of the series' spinoffs before retiring from NCIS completely. It remains her most well-known role. The series is now in its 18th season, and showing no signs of slowing down, so it's always possible that NCIS will introduce a new MENSA candidate who puts Abby to shame. For now, she still holds the title.