The US import, which has attracted positive reviews from TV critics in today's papers, drew an average audience of 1m and a 6% share, according to unofficial overnight figures.
It was backed with a heavyweight marketing campaign that included frequent trails, outdoor posters, cinema and press ads.
The programme also outperformed the slot average of 5.8% among ABC1 men, pulling in an 8% share for one of the most sought after demographics by advertisers.
The 12-part first series, which was a hit stateside, features British actress Natasha McElhone, who has starred in 'The Truman Show' and 'Solaris', and former 'Sex and the City' actor, Evan Handler, in addition to former 'X-Files' star Duchovny.
'Californication' was scheduled in the 10pm-10.45pm slot, and was immediately followed by another US import making its debut on Five - '30 Rock'.
'30 Rock', in which Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin plays the producer of a fictional TV show called 'The Girlie Show', was watched by 700,000 and a 5.6% share -- between 10.45pm-11.15pm.
Elsewhere, Channel 4's US drama 'Without a Trace', set around the FBI's Missing Persons Squad, was watched by 1.3m and an 8% share in the 10pm-11pm slot.
ITV1 documentary 'Commando: On the Front Line' drew 1.8m and a 9.9% share in the 10-10:30pm slot.
BBC2's expensive US import, 'Heroes', in which ordinary people discover they have special abilities such as flying and invisibility, was watched by a small audience of 400,000 and a 4.9% share in the 11:20-12:05am slot.
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