It is true that there are several inescapable differences between gay characters appearing on a TV show and gay characters headlining a feature film. The former rarely have to carry the show by themselves, and the plot of each discrete TV episode doesn't need to be anything more involved than finding a good babysitter — not so with a movie. (There's also the fact that, despite all the great progress over the last few years, same-sex sexuality remains a touchy subject even for gay-friendly shows. Mitch and Cam are the best, but do they, like, ever have sex?) TV is also all about getting an audience to say "I relate to that!" Movies, especially studio romantic comedies, are all about getting an audience to say "I aspire to that!" (Think of Ryan Reynolds' insanely gorgeous family home in The Proposal, all those fabulous kitchens in Nancy Meyers movies, or Ryan Reynolds' insanely gorgeous abs in The Proposal.) For a certain generation — a generation still running every studio in Hollywood — the notion of a "gay lifestyle" being aspirational to the average moviegoer is too far of a cognitive leap to make.

And there are the different economics of TV vs. film. Television execs often aim their programming to hit specific niche audiences, especially as ratings have splintered from the '80s and '90s heyday of 35-million-viewer shows. Movie execs, by contrast, still train their "product" toward the broadest possible audience, forever chasing the "four quadrant" golden goose. Even more pressing for Hollywood suits: The $5 million to $20 million broadcast and cable networks spend promoting each of their shows comes nowhere near the $30 million to $60 million money pits film studios regularly burn trying to get your ass into the multiplex. The cost, and therefore the risk, of putting a major gay character on a movie screen is much greater than putting one on your TV.

It's that kind of dismal math, mixed with a lingering belief that Middle America still does not want to shell out at the box office for a gay lead, that has kept gay characters from taking center stage as romantic leads in major studio films. African-American and Hispanic characters have faced a similar fate for decades. And it's an enormous shame. Hollywood has been in a panic to get 18- to 34-year-olds to leave their iPads and Xboxes at home and make moviegoing a part of their regular routines, but they've either overlooked or outright ignored the massive demographic shifts that have — to pick one example at random — elected a black male president, twice. There is an entire generation of voracious media consumers that not only doesn't care if someone is gay, they think it is pretty weird if someone else does care.

I cannot stress this enough. The country has changed. Straight. People. Watch. Gay. Stories. All. The. Time.