Twenty years ago, Allison Williams could have been a hit in rom-coms, but, as has been well-documented, the genre barely exists as a commercial force anymore. Zosia Mamet may have a unique comedic presence, but she is probably too quirky to be a Hollywood leading lady. Jemima Kirke looks the part, but movie studios have yet to cast her in a major film.

Maybe these women's time will come, but Hollywood seems to have decided that a man must go first. This turn of events throws into relief just how traditional the film industry remains compared with the experimental, increasingly diverse world of TV.

Television has always been able to get away with more than the movies. I Love Lucy featured an interracial couple back in 1951, when the Production Code still forbade it in film. In the 1970s, network shows like All in the Family and M*A*S*H intentionally provoked discussion about our social and political values in the context of the counterculture. Both shows were honored with Peabody Awards.

On the more divisive social issues of our time, television has continued leading the way. For example, openly gay or bisexual characters can be found everywhere on the small screen, from network hits (Modern Family, Glee) to small cable dramas (Looking) to Netflix (Orange Is the New Black). Meanwhile, you have to go all the way down to No. 100 on the list of top-grossing films of 2013 to find an openly LGBT character in a major role (Dallas Buyers Club).

Another place where television trumps film in reflecting modern America is its use of Latino characters. A portion of anti-immigration advocates fear the dilution of American culture due to the influence of Mexican immigrants, but on television, no one seems to mind. On the networks, Modern Family features a prominent Latina (Sofia Vergara), while Eva Longoria, of Mexican descent, anchored Desperate Housewives for years. Flip on over to cable and check out The Bridge for a more serious, nuanced Latino character. George Lopez has been around seemingly forever and has a new show on FX premiering next month. But where are the Latino movie stars? Sure, we’ve got Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Antonio Banderas, but they are all of Spanish descent, not Mexican, which makes a difference when we’re discussing immigration issues. If you are looking for a Mexican-American movie star, the best you can do are Salma Hayek, Diego Luna, or Danny Trejo, none of who have the star power to helm a big-budget studio movie. Many talented Latino film actors out there, like the versatile and charismatic Michael Pena, have inexplicably never broken through to the mainstream (although next month’s Cesar Chavez will hopefully change that in Pena’s case).

On issues of gender equality, both film and television are making progress. In the past several years, we have seen women on the silver screen in a wide range of roles typically dominated by men. Bridesmaids and The To-Do List showed how gross-out comedies need not be male-only affairs. The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Brave featured a new dynamic: female action heroes saving their weaker male counterparts. But television still has the edge here because the medium routinely features middle-aged female protagonists (Weeds, Damages, House of Cards, The Good Wife), the kind that the movies still have little use for (Sandra Bullock not withstanding).