Of BBC’s history documentaries I’ve watched Egypt (2005) which was good but should probably be renamed The European Discovery of Egypt since its focus was on Howard Carter, Giovanni Belzoni, and Jean-Francois Champollion rather than the Egyptians themselves. I’ve also got A History of Britain saved to my computer but I haven’t watched it yet.
I’m not sure if “History Channel-style documentary” is even a positive descriptor anymore since they barely air documentaries nowadays and most of their shows are aliens/doomsday/Pawn Stars-type things, but there is Russia: Land of the Tsars, which I enjoyed and a lot of people seem to like, and many of their older documentaries are good, but I can’t specifically name any. Maybe you should try PBS.
Anyone have any suggestions?