The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has never won any Emmy in its previous nine seasons despite some notable streaks of excellence. (It has been nominated 31 times.) For much of that period, it competed in late-night’s top category against Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, which Emmy voters love the way Oliver loves a minor-league baseball team .

A sudden resurgence of interest in the late convicted sex offender, and unanswered questions about his crimes, has been measurable this month in book sales, Netflix streams and YouTube searches.