A countrywide search to find the best amateur cooks is led by Chef Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot. Here are the latest TV show ratings for the Tuesday editions of the MasterChef reality competition. The third season of MasterChef typically airs Monday and Tuesday nights on the FOX network.

These are the TV show’s ratings for the 2011-12 season, the best way to tell if MasterChef will be cancelled or renewed for a fourth season.

Please check out our FOX Summer 2012 ratings report card to see how this show’s numbers compare with the others on the network.

These figures will be updated as the weeks progress so be sure to bookmark and return to this page:

Final ratings averages: 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.67 million total viewers.

Tuesday, 09/04/12
2.7 in the demo (-4% episode-to-episode change) with 6.53 million.
Season averages: 2.36 in the demo with 5.67 million.

Tuesday, 08/28/12
2.8 in the demo (+17% episode-to-episode change) with 6.59 million.
Season averages: 2.33 in the demo with 5.58 million.

Tuesday, 08/21/12
2.4 in the demo (0% episode-to-episode change) with 5.99 million.
Season averages: 2.28 in the demo with 5.47 million.

Tuesday, 08/14/12
2.4 in the demo (-4% episode-to-episode change) with 5.73 million.
Season averages: 2.26 in the demo with 5.41 million.

Tuesday, 07/24/12
2.5 in the demo (0% episode-to-episode change) with 6.08 million.
Season averages: 2.24 in the demo with 5.36 million.

Update: FOX has renewed MasterChef for a fourth season.

Tuesday, 07/17/12
2.5 in the demo (+25% episode-to-episode change) with 6.16 million.
Season averages: 2.20 in the demo with 5.24 million.

Tuesday, 07/03/12
2.0 in the demo (-13% episode-to-episode change) with 5.14 million.
Season averages: 2.14 in the demo with 5.06 million.

Tuesday, 06/26/12
2.3 in the demo (+10% episode-to-episode change) with 5.46 million.
Season averages: 2.17 in the demo with 5.04 million.

Tuesday, 06/19/12
2.1 in the demo (0% episode-to-episode change) with 5.13 million.
Season average: 2.13 in the demo with 4.90 million.

Tuesday, 06/12/12
2.1 in the demo (-5% episode-to-episode change) with 4.83 million.
Season average: 2.15 in the demo with 4.78 million.

Tuesday, 06/05/12
2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 4.73 million total viewers; first in the timeslot.
Season average: 2.20 in the demo with 4.73 million.

Reference point: The Monday episodes of Summer 2011 averaged a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 5.27 million viewers.

Note: These ratings are collected by the Nielsen company and are the final national numbers. These are different from the fast affiliate numbers which are just estimates of the actual ratings and are reported on by most other outlets. The final nationals are typically released within 24 hours of the programming or, in the case of weekends and holidays, a couple days later.

What do you think? Do you like the MasterChef TV series? How does it compare to the other cooking competition series?