This show is terrible. I watched the first few episodes and they went further and further down hill. I think it would have been better as a miniseries than as an ongoing program. I cannot name a Fox drama in recent history that didn’t end abruptly or have a hasty finish because it did so poorly. Their shows are no longer worth watching, IMHO.
I think you've hit on the approach for successful television in the future. Hollywood itself can't seem to sustain the talent nor creativity in order to produce a compelling storyline for more than a few episodes.
"Once upon a time" for example, drew my wife's attention, but grew annoying and predictable somehow in only a few episodes. If we thought the story was finite and building to a finale that guaranteed closure, we could deal with it. However in a situation where we're already losing interest and there's no promise of closure, we aren't compelled to invest the time in further viewing.
The Spanish soap opera model may be a preview of what will be necessary to overcome the shortcoming of Hollywood's ability to generate a compelling and entertaining script beyond a season or so.
It may be the only means available to get people interested enough to commit to viewing the entire series.