Few who keep an eye on late-night TV believe “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was axed purely for financial reasons.

Colbert’s regular bashing of President Donald Trump resulted in a raw deal, which is why so many left-leaning superstars like Jon Stewart, Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Bruce Springsteen have been stopping by in the program’s final weeks to show their support.

But when the lights shut off on Thursday, I’m not going to miss him.

I’m a fan of Colbert’s early work. He was hilarious as a misinformed history teacher on Amy Sedaris’ underrated series, “Strangers With Candy.” The cocky correspondent has become a staple on “The Daily Show,” but no one ever captured the character better than Colbert. And the quasi-spinoff, “The Colbert Report,” was a one-joke premise that managed to stay amusing for nine seasons.

But while “The Late Show” topped the ratings during much of its run, it never really distinguished itself. During its 11 seasons, I can’t think of one standout moment that comes close to being as funny as Seth Meyers’ day drinking with Rihanna or Sarah Silverman bragging about her affair with Matt Damon on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” or Jimmy Fallon doing a pitch-perfect impression of Neil Young.

Here are four reasons Colbert fell short of greatness.

He had the wrong venue. When David Letterman jumped to CBS, the network ponied up $4.5 million to buy him the Ed Sullivan Theater, once home to the most popular primetime variety show in TV history. Letterman used the spectacular setting to stage memorable moments like having Paul McCartney perform on the roof or filling the seats with fans from the same city.

Colbert also took advantage of the palatial digs. Last week’s rendition of “Putting it Together” with Broadway stars Bernadette Peters and Ben Platt wouldn’t have worked nearly as well in cramped quarters.

But when it comes to generating laughs, smaller is almost always better.

As a viewer getting ready for bed, I want to feel like I’m enjoying the last call at the neighborhood bar with my buddy. That’s hard to simulate with a venue that looks more like a church than a watering hole. Colbert would have been better off sticking to his old “Report” studio and sacrificing the temptation to always put on a “really big shew.”

He wasn’t different enough. In “The Last Laugh,” a CNN documentary that premiered Sunday, Colbert’s former Second City colleague David Razowsky complained that late night soon will be missing a place for bold expression.

“That is going to be lost,” the current improv coach said. “That voice that says, ‘I’ve got a spine, come with me, I’m not alone.’”

Well, not really. Viewers who crave a liberal fix can still turn to Kimmel, Meyers, John Oliver and dozens of social media personalities.

When Colbert skewered President George W. Bush during the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the late-night kings were Jay Leno, Letterman and Conan O’Brien, comedians who rarely showed their political stripes.

By the time, CBS tapped Colbert to inherit the “The Late Show” in 2015, the field was overrun with hosts wearing their Democratic leanings on their sleeves. Even Kimmel, who originally sold himself as a guy who watched more ESPN than CNN, had joined the movement.

Most of Colbert’s jokes could have just as easily come out of the mouths of his competitors. In retrospect, CBS could have stood out — and offered viewers a tempting alternative — by recruiting someone like Nate Bargatze, Amy Schumer, Nathan Fielder or Kevin Hart, talent that might have been more focused on generating innovative laughs than pushing political agendas.

He was too smug. Colbert seems to be a super nice guy. But he can come across as a bit of a know-it-all and showoff. He rarely resisted the urge to drop the names of famous friends. Last week, he went out of his way to remind audiences that former President Barack Obama gave him permission to call him “Barack.”

I always cringed when he took the stage to duet with guests like Paul Simon and Pearl Jam. When four of his competitors stopped by last week, he went out of his way to mention that he beat them in a contest for sexiest feet.

It bugged me that many comedians would pretape their stand-up sets weeks in advance when Colbert wasn’t around. That’s just rude.

He picked the wrong format. Colbert might have been trying to emulate Letterman, but he mostly reminded me of Dick Cavett. That’s not a slight.

Cavett, a TV staple for four decades, spent too much time flaunting his Ivy League education, but he was terrific when chatting with guests who had more on their minds than plugging their latest movie. Colbert was the same way. He was at his best debating religion with Ricky Gervais, dissecting headlines with journalists John Dickerson and probing the secret of the universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Late-night TV used to make room for folks like Cavett, Charlie Rose and Tom Snyder, who all focused on stimulating conversation. “The Late Show” might have been more engaging if had filled that niche. If that kind of show ends up being in Colbert’s future, I’m more than likely to rejoin the fan club.

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