‘You & Me This Morning’ tacks on another hour to Chicago talk show

“You & Me This Morning” co-hosts Melissa Forman (left) and Jeanne Sparrow. (Photo courtesy WCIU)

As of this morning, there’s more of “You & Me This Morning” on WCIU-Channel 26.

Co-hosted by former radio personalities Melissa Forman and Jeanne Sparrow, the feel-good morning chatfest on Monday added another hour at 8 a.m.

The show now airs three hours of local, live content from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Weigel Broadcasting’s flagship station, WCIU, “The U.”

The little upstart that could has been steadily building its audience since its humble 2009 debut.

“You & Me This Morning” averaged 40,000 households in the Chicago market in May of 2012. Two years later, that number ballooned to 73,000 households.

It roughly doubled its reach among women in the 25-to-54-year-old and 18-to-49-year-old demos during that same time period, according to Nielsen.

“We are the show for people who are tired of waking up to the same news about what terrible thing happened the night before,” said senior executive producer Rob Morhaim in an emailed statement announcing the expansion. “We’re the show for people searching for a lighter and more fun way to start their day and viewers are responding. I’m delighted that we’re able to add an additional hour of local content with Jeanne and Melissa who are so incredibly talented, relatable and without question, have the best teeth in morning television.”

The program focuses on lighter fare with topics ranging from entertainment and fashion to community events and celebrity guests. And because this is Chicago, there’s weather coverage.

“You & Me This Morning” is on WCIU-TV HD 26.1, RCN 6, RCN HD 606, WOW 6, WOW HD 207, AT&T U-verse 10, AT&T U-verse HD 1010, DIRECTV HD 26 and Dish Network 26.