Halmi graduated to associate producer with "When the Circus Came to Town" (CBS, 1981), a romantic comedy starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Christopher Plummer, executive producer with "China Rose" (CBS, 1983), and producer on "April Morning" (CBS, 1988) which aired as a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation. He supervised all operating and financial matters at RHI while producing or executive producing numerous "prestige" packages as president of Robert Halmi, Inc. from 1985 to 1988. Halmi enjoyed his greatest triumph to date with the hugely popular Western miniseries "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989) which netted eight Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. He was also closely involved in the growth of RHI's library as it swelled to over 900 hours of miniseries, TV-movies and specials. He executive produced the syndicated teenage series "Dracula--The Series" (1990), served as senior producer on "Space Rangers" (CBS, 1993), a short-lived sci-fi actioner starring Linda Hunt, and oversaw the syndicated "Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years" (1994). Other credits include the popular Nickelodeon series The Secret Life of Alex Mack" (1994-98), the Emmy-nominated "The Baby Dance" (Showtime, 1999), the cult series "Farscape" (Sci-Fi Channel, 1999- ) and the Emmy-nominated "Arabian Nights" (ABC, 2000).
Halmi entered features as associate producer to his father on "The Long Ride" (1984). He advanced to executive producer on the comic misfire "Lily in Love" (1985) starring Christopher Plummer and Maggie Smith and "Leader of the Band" (1987), a mild comedy with Mercedes Ruehl.
Halmi became president and CEO of Hallmark Entertainment after RHI Entertainment was sold to and became a division of Hallmark Cards. His father reigned as chairman of the board. Under the auspices of Hallmark, Halmi ventured into theatrical production with Broadway revivals of the family-aimed "The Sound of Music" and "1776" (both 1998).