You seem incredibly naive if you think the viewership < production costs ratio doesn't apply to Apple.

>A lot of great quality shows need time to breathe and I think apple understands that.

I think you are blissfully unaware how many "great quality shows" have low viewership numbers that actually grow in viewership over time. It's incredibly rare.

Apple cancels shows that underperform (see: Mr. Corman).

Apple is also just getting started in the streaming game, so it's normal for shows that would normally get canned on another service to get renewed for another season because they lack a robust content library. Once Apple's content library is large enough, they'll be canceling shows just like every other service in the game.

Don't hate streaming services for canceling shows that people don't watch enough to justify the production costs. It's juvenile.

Showtime's belt was already pretty tight to begin with...