Nip/Tuck became an instant basic cable hit from its 2003 series premiere.
For its third season, FX aired Nip/Tuck solely in the fall of 2005, instead of during the summer season like the two years prior. John Landgraf, president of FX, stated that such a move was a "huge risk" since it stacked up "against the full barrage of fall network competition."[19] Despite some critical backlash on its third season, like the grade of D+ from Entertainment Weekly,[26] the story arc involving The Carver attracted an audience to the series larger than any season before, culminating in a December 20, 2005 two-hour season finale, entitled Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa, which became the most-watched scripted program in the history of the FX network.
Including Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa, three episodes of Nip/Tuck rank as the three most-watched scripted programs ever on FX. The second season finale, entitled Joan Rivers, which aired on October 5, 2004, drew 5.2 million viewers. It was then eclipsed on September 20, 2005 when the third season premiere, entitled Momma Boone, drew roughly 5.3 million viewers.[27] Exactly three months later on December 20, 2005, the aforementioned third season finale, entitled Cherry Peck / Quentin Costa, drew 5.7 million viewers. Of those 5.7 million viewers, 3.9 million viewers were in the 18-49 age group demographic, "making the finale the No. 1 episode among the key advertising demographic of any cable series in 2005. It's also the largest demographic number for any single telecast in the network's history,"[19] according to Zap2It.
According to the September 8, 2006 Mediaweek column The Programming Insider, "the fourth season-premiere on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, from 10-11:10 pm averaged a stellar 4.8 million total viewers and 3.4 million adults 18-49, building over its season three average by 25 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Nip/Tuck's performance among adults 18-49 ranks as basic cable’s top-rated season-premiere in the demo for 2006, as of September 8, 2006."[20]
