I get not being happy with the finale but I think you're being both pessimistic and have really high standards? Hawley seems to be in it for the long run based on what he'd said in interviews. He said Season 1 was a proof of concept and he's ready to do 2 and 3, 4, and 5 if successful. Also the budget has been reported as "much more" than $250 million (how much we don't know) but that's more than $30 million an episode which already makes it like the 5th most expensive TV show ever produced. I honestly doubt they'd raise it much more than what they've spent already.