Does Episode approve backgrounds Friday nights?

Not necessarily.

Episode will take between 2hours-2weeks to review a background, cover, or overlay.
Most of the time, when updates return January 14th, Episode will finalize a review on Thursdays, but that’s not always the case. I’ve had instances when something will be reviewed within the next 2 hours on a Monday night. However, there are some times when I’ve had to wait about a week and a half (till a Wednesday) for something to be reviewed.